New Moons: Symbolism & Obervance

The words of Almighty GOD are marvellous, wondrous and awesome. His teaching restores and rejuvenates us. God’s words are superbly coherent, amazingly wise and always practical. The Word of God teaches us to think, and therefore, how to behave. Our actions are, after all, the results of what is in our heads and hearts. Wise thoughts produce wise decisions and wise deeds. Thoughtlessness or careless thought does not produce inactivity—it produces folly and blundering. God teaches us to think and thus we are able to decide how to behave (Prov 1:1-7; Ps 1:1-2; 119:14-16). However, it is uncomfortable to think, it’s painful to bring every thought into captivity (2Cor 10:5), it hurts to be accountable for every thought, word, deed (Rom 14:12; Heb 4:13; Jas 1:26; 3:6,8). It’s therefore better not to think or not think too much. It’s better to have others tell you what to think, what to do, and even how to do it—isn’t it? Do we see that this world’s cultures and religions seek to control minds and hearts?

Do we realize that the relationships of the sun, moon and earth from the creation include reference to the universality of the Sabbath and the solar-lunar calendar? The seventh day is for mankind and therefore all Sabbaths are for all people (See the paper Mankind and the Sabbath). The Sabbaths were established from the creation and are not Judaic![1]

A renowned scholar of the OT, Walther Eichrodt (d. 1978), expressed these thoughts about the weekly holy day:

“[T]he Sabbath is extolled as the will of the sovereign Creator God at the foundation of the world; and from thenceforward the consecration of this day to Yahweh is combined with the pious act of abstaining from work. The keeping holy of the seventh day forms an emphatic reminder that God is the Lord of Time, and that no business, however pressing, must be allowed to keep men from regularly seeking his fellowship; but the joyful character of the day of rest also brings home to the worshipper that his God is a kindly Master, who does not lay on men a yoke too heavy to bear [a footnote includes: “Because the Sabbath rest had its far-reaching effect on daily life, it is perfectly understandable that this day and no other should have been included in the basic law of the Decalogue”]. … [I]ndeed, the fact that this day was explained in terms of the rest of God himself after the work of Creation, proves that it was regarded as a source of blessing of universal significance … It was not until in later Judaism a religion of harsh observances had replaced the religion of the Old Testament that the Sabbath changed from a blessing to a burdensome duty.” (Theology of the Old Testament, Vol 1; London: SCM Press, 1987; pp 131,133).

Though a Sunday-keeper, Eichrodt recognized what Scripture teaches—often different to what we do.

Sabbath and festival observance is founded in God’s creation and His revelatory use of time.

God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to divide the day from the night; let them be for signs (What signs?) and seasons, and for days and years.”

The relationships of movements in the heavens and the consequent changes in nature causes changes for man. The flow of the seasons determines much human activity. Even wars have been planned according to seasons—generally planned to start in spring or early summer (2Sam 11:1). The time and season relationships governed by sun, moon, stars, and earth’s rotation and revolution foreshadow the history of the relationships between God and mankind, God and His servants, God and His Church. Observance and non-observance of God’s festivals and laws affects history, e.g., droughts, floods, famines, plagues, wars and invasions involve nations and empires (Dt 28:1,15, 25,64-65; Is 58:13-14; Ezk 20:19-20,33-34).

Ps 89:35-37 is an example of connection between history and the meaning of creation: Once for all, I have sworn by My holiness—and I will not lie to David— 36 that his line will continue forever and his throne endure before Me like the sun; 37 it will be established forever like the moon (yereach; TDOT, VI.355-362; TWOT, Item 663), the faithful witness in the sky.” Selah.

The sun and moon are used as symbols of witness? Do we recognize to what they witness? When the sun and moon no longer serve their present functions then relationships in the new heavens and new earth will be governed by the source of eternal Light (Rev 21:23).

In Jer 10:11-12 God says, “Tell them this”: ‘These gods, who did not make the heavens and the earth (for many myths, even in Aboriginal culture, claim their gods created the universe and life on earth), [they—the myths and the gods] will perish from the earth and from under the heavens.’” 12 But God made the earth by His power; He founded the world by His wisdom and stretched out the heavens by His understanding.

We should see God’s awe-inspiring wisdom revealed in the creation and understand the meanings of the special times reflected by the seasons (Rom 1:20).

Prophecies link God’s nation and saints with the history of the whole world—Dan 11 and 12, Rev 12 and 13 are examples. The behaviour of God’s people foreshadows God’s responses towards the whole world. It’s because of the saints that the world will not be destroyed, as Mt 24:22 and Mk 13:20 reveal. God’s responses to man’s history are reflected in the meanings and symbols of the seasonal festivals—including the Feast of Dedication and Purim (Jn 10:22-24; 1Macc 4:52-59; 2Macc 1:18; Est 9:20-22). At this point I’d like to quote from two scholars, a Rumanian and a Spaniard—both highly regarded in their fields of comparative religion and religious symbolism.

Mircea Eliade (editor of the Encyclopedia of Religion (New York: Macmillan, 1987) in his COSMOS AND HISTORY THE MYTH OF THE ETERNAL RETURN, speaks of the relationship of time, which is created by the movements of earth and moon relative to the sun, and of nature’s responses which ancient and current cultures interpreted. Eliade comments, “[T]he essential thing is that there is everywhere [i.e., throughout ancient and current cultures] a conception of the end and the beginning of a temporal period [that which is of the earth], based on the observation of biocosmic rhythms [i.e., the parallels of the rhythm of life and the rhythm in the heavens. For example, the rhythm of the moon affects tides; tides determine fishing and when fishermen go out for their catch] and forming part of a larger system—the system of periodic purifications (cf. purges, fasting, confession of sins, etc. [also foot-washing, special prayers, pilgrimage, offerings, vows) and the periodic regeneration of life [as we observe in the flow of spring, summer, autumn, winter]. … A periodic regeneration of time presupposes, in more or less explicit form—and especially in historic civilizations—a new creation, that is, a repetition of the cosmogonic act [i.e., the origin of the universe as interpreted by cultures.

How do we repeat in our lives what God reveals in creation and His time cycles? Do we understand the spiritual meanings of Sabbaths, festivals and specially ordained occasions?] [continuing with Eliade]: And this conception of a periodic creation, i.e., of cyclical regeneration of time, poses the problem of the abolition of “history”” (New York: Harper & Row, 1959; pp 52-53). Repetition suggests an end. Yes, history will be totally different, for there will be new heavens and new earth!

Eliade comments further: “The moon is the first of creatures to die, but also the first to live again [not everybody sees the street dog die, but everybody can see the moon]. The phases of the moon—appearance, increase, wane, disappearance, followed by reappearance after three nights of darkness—have played an immense part in the elaboration of cyclical concepts. We find analogous concepts especially in the archaic apocalypses and anthropogonies [cultural ideas about origins and end of man]; deluge or flood puts an end to an exhausted and sinful humanity, and a new regenerated humanity is born, usually from a mythical “ancestor” who escaped the catastrophe [as in Rev 12, which speaks of our spiritual founder who conquered the death threats of Satan], or from a lunar animal” (pp 86-87). Though there is this historic disappearance, waxing, then waning again, the gates of Hades will not prevail against the Church, as Christ told the apostles (Mt 16:18).

“The very ancient myth of the suffering, death, and resurrection of Tammuz has replicas and imitations almost throughout the Paleo-Oriental world [Tammuz is a devilish parody of the Messiah; see JB & NRSV fnn to Ezk 8:14, Dan 11:37], … the sufferings and resurrection of Tammuz also provided a model for the sufferings of other divinities (Marduk, for example) and doubtless were mimed (hence repeated) each year by the king [for the kings often did priestly duties]. … this mythical drama reminded men that suffering is never final; that death is always followed by resurrection; that every defeat is annulled and transcended by the final victory” (pp 100-101). 1Cor 15:54 quotes Is 25:8—Death is swallowed up in victory!

Eliade is saying that the moon’s cycles have been anciently interpreted as pointing to eventual regeneration, restoration, transformation, resurrection and eternal life.

The Spanish scholar, J.E. Cirlot, in A Dictionary of Symbols, quotes Cicero [106-43BC]: “‘Every month the moon completes the same trajectory executed by the sun in a year…. It contributes in large measure to the maturation of shrubs and the growth of animals.’ This helps to explain the important róle of the lunar goddesses such as Ishtar, Hathor, Anaitis, Artemis [also Astarte, Asherah, Cybele, Diana, Isis, Juno, Lucina, and Europa, which means “broad-faced”]. Man, from the earliest times, has been aware of the relationship between the moon and the tides, and of the more mysterious connexion between the lunar cycle and the physiological cycle of women. … the moon thus becomes the ‘Master of women’. Another essential fact in the ‘psychology of the moon’ is the apparent changes in its surface that accompany its periodic phases. .. [T]hese phases—especially in their negative sense of partial and gradual disappearance—may have been the source of inspiration for the Dismemberment myth” (London: Routledge, 1993; pp 214-215).

Just as the light of the moon is cut off, so the mythic messiah was cut off—piece by piece—dismembered. The dismemberment or murder of heathen messiahs, such as Osiris and Mithra, was understood as implying resurrection out of darkness in burial. Out of the death of the false messiahs came notions of the regeneration of life. Quite obviously, biblically defined resurrection is preceded by many myths inspired by the god of this world, the father of lies, who has long known the Plan of God and always seeks to pervert it.

These somewhat difficult quotes give additional reason to note the significance of the Hebrew meanings of the root word for moon, month and new. The same Hebrew root, hds, forms the words for new, chādhāsh, and new moon or month, chōdhesh. The noun is used about 280 times (TDOT.IV.225-244; TWOT, Item 613).

Other Hebrew words for moon and month are yerach, yareach (often used negatively), and lebanah, which means “white lady” (TDOT.VII.438-441; TWOT, Item, 1074).

Chādhāsh is used in contexts such as new song (Ps 33:3; 98:1; 149:1); new wine (Job 32:19); new name (Is 62:2; cf. Rev 2:17; 3:12); new heart and new spirit (Ezk 18:31; 36:26); new covenant (Jer 31:31; cf. Heb 8:8); new heavens and new earth (Is 65:17; 66:22); and God declares new things before they come to pass (Is 42:9). Chādhāsh also means renew, refresh, rejuvenate, restore, repair, rebuild, regenerate, to be new, to make new.

The NT uses men (month), neomene (new moon), and selene (moon) (TDNT.IV.638-642). It may be of interest to know that the Indo-European root, mē, from which derives the NT Greek for moon, men, mēnē is the same for moon, month, measure (ER.X.84; TDNT.IV.638); OE mōna; OHG māno; L mensis. Scripture speaks of measuring the saints (e.g., Rev 11:1-2; Ezk 43:10-12; Zech 2:2). The English word moon is derived from the Greek. In the 1300s, Chaucer’s age (c. 1343-1400), mone, was the word for moon.

It seems obvious that any observance of the new moon, chōdhesh, implies chādhāsh, i.e., renewal, restoration, rebuilding, regeneration—in spirit and truth—coming out of Darkness into the Light of God in this world of Darkness. The new moon, at conjunction, gives no light. It gradually waxes to give more and more light, until its fullness, then wanes to give less and less. This cycle reflects, in general terms, the history of God’s people. However, that which was and is in Darkness must come out of Darkness, must come into the Light of the Sun of Righteousness (Mal 4:2)—must permanently reflect the Glory of God (Eph 5:8; Col 1:13; Is 9:2). Any observance of new moons surely includes the vision of what will be the state of Light in the lives of those who seek to live by every Word of God.

Incidentally, the Babylonian Talmud gives a Judaic new moon day prayer, which expresses a renewal and anticipates resurrection (TDNT.IV.640; Sanhedrin 42a).

is described in Numbers 28 and 29, where daily, Sabbath, new moon and festival sacrifices are listed. New moon sacrifices are also given with Sabbath and festival sacrifices in

is given in relatively few instances. There is only one NT reference and it’s Col 2:16-17. In looking at the Greek, I suggest that it may be read, literally, as:

Don’t let anyone criticize you for what you eat or drink (in terms of Lev 11, Dt 14, and in terms of balance), or about observance of annual festivals, new moons (neomenias) or Sabbaths, 17 which are a shadow of things to come (skia)—but this Body of the Christ [to. de. sw/ma tou/ Cristou] (i.e., the full elliptical thought is: but this Body of the Christ judges you) (cf. Gk Interlinear; Harris, Colossians & Philemon, Exegetical Guide to the Greek New Testament; Eerdmans, 1991; pp 117-118).

Some scholars say Paul is responding to those who criticize Christians who do not observe Judaic customs. This kind of interpretation presumes that the Sabbaths and sacred times are Judaic—but they are not; they are for the whole world. The word of God is our measure and not man-made traditions that presume to be of God.

Heb 8:5 says that the Tabernacle and all its contents serve as a copy and shadow (skia) of the heavenly Sanctuary (which typified God’s intentions); for when Moses was about to erect the Tent, he was instructed by God, saying, “See that you make everything according to the pattern which was shown you on the mountain.”

The shadows of the heavenly things are imperfect copies that are signs of God’s intents (Heb 10:1-4). Mt Sinai foreshadowed Mt Zion, as Gal 4:22-31 shows. In Col 2:16-17 the apostle tells those who observe festivals, new moons and Sabbaths that they should not accept criticism from those who do not observe or observe differently. After all, these special times foreshadow things that have happened, are happening to Christians, will happen to the saints and to the world. Spiritual observances govern our lives, re-orient our minds and hearts, and give us a vision of the past, present and future. The majority of churches, if not all, seek to impose their dominion over their followers and give them their own visions of what their gods have done, do, and intend to do (Prov 29:18; Ezk 7:26)! It is the Spirit of God that inspires and guides the beloved into all that is good—and as God sees it.

In 1Sam 20:1-6 we read that David fled from Naioth at Ramah (a complex of buildings making up Samuel’s school north of Jerusalem) and went to Jonathan and asked, “What have I done? What is my crime? How have I wronged your father, that he is trying to take my life?” 2 “Never!” Jonathan replied (in shock). “You are not going to die! Look, my father doesn’t do anything, big or small, without confiding in me. Why would he hide this from me? It’s not so!” 3 But David (a fugitive from Saul) took an oath and said, “Your father knows very well that I have found favour in your eyes, and he has said to himself, ‘Jonathan must not know this or he will be grieved.’ Yet as surely as the LORD lives and as you live, there is only a step between me and death.” 4 (Jonathan responded to David for he knew he could trust his friend), “Whatever you want me to do, I’ll do for you.” 5 So David said, “Look, tomorrow is the new moon” (chōdhesh).

Therefore, visual sighting of the first crescent could not have been an issue in determining the time of the new moon. Crescent observers insist on witnessed sighting before the new moon day is recognized as observable. Maybe David had binoculars that looked into the future?

David continued: “I’m supposed to dine with the king (as Saul had his palace tradition); but let me go and hide in the field until the evening of the day after tomorrow. 6 If your father misses me at all, tell him, ‘David earnestly asked my permission to hurry to Bethlehem, his hometown, because an annual sacrifice is being made there for his whole clan.’”

David referred to an annual new moon event kept according to his family’s tradition.

In 1Sam 20:18 Jonathan said to David: “Tomorrow is the new moon (chōdhesh; for they knew in advance, as we do). You will be missed, because your seat will be empty.”

1Sam 20:24-30 David hid in the field, and when the new moon (chōdhesh) came, the king sat down to eat. 25 He sat in his customary place by the wall, opposite Jonathan, and Abner sat next to Saul, but David’s place was empty. 26 Saul said nothing that day, for he thought, “Something must have happened to David to make him impure—surely he is impure.”

27 But the next day, the second day of the month, David’s place was empty again. Then Saul said to his son Jonathan, “Why hasn’t the son of Jesse come to the meal, either yesterday or today?” 28 Jonathan answered, “David earnestly asked me for permission to go to Bethlehem.” 29 He said, ‘Let me go, because our family is observing a sacrifice in the town and my brother has ordered me to be there. If I have found favour in your eyes, let me get away to see my brothers.’ That is why he has not come to the king’s table.” 30 Saul’s anger flared up at Jonathan and he said to him, “You son of a perverse and rebellious woman! Don’t I know that you have sided with the son of Jesse to your own shame and to the shame of the mother who bore you?”

2Ki 4:8-10 One day Elisha went to Shunem (a village in the northern foothills of the Jezreel Valley and east of Megiddo). A well-to-do woman was there, who urged him to stay for a meal. So whenever he came by, he stopped there to eat. 9 She said to her husband, “I know that this man often comes our way and he is a holy man of God. 10 Let’s make a small room on the roof and put in it a bed and table, a chair and lamp for him. Then he can stay there whenever he comes.”

They did this for Elisha. On a visit the prophet promised she would give birth to a son.

17-23 The woman became pregnant, and the next year about that same time she gave birth to a son, just as Elisha had told her. 18 The child grew, and one day he went out (presumably only a young boy) to his father, who was with the reapers. 19 “My head! My head!” he cried to his father. His father told a servant, “Carry him to his mother.” 20 After the servant had lifted him up and carried him to his mother, the boy sat on her lap until noon, and then he died (The exact cause of death is not given). 21 She went up and laid him on the bed of the man of God, then shut the door and went out (She didn’t put him in his own bed, or the marital bed, but in Elisha’s). 22 She called her husband and said, “Please send me one of the servants and a donkey so I can go to the man of God quickly and return.” 23 “Why go to him today?” he asked. “It’s not the new moon or the Sabbath.” “It’s all right,” she said.

Some people presume that men of God are only specially empowered on new moons and Sabbaths. The mother of the boy, who was raised to life by Elisha, did not presume this.

Ezra describes an interesting case which contradicts those who are sure about Sabbath travel. A traditional Sabbath day’s journey was from the Mt of Olives to the Temple, as Acts 1:12 suggests. Luke’s comment perhaps indicates the current tradition of what was the permissible walking distance on the Sabbath. Let’s note what Ezra did about the long journey, walking more than 1200km in four months, from Babylon to Jerusalem.

Ezra 7:8-10: Verses 1 and 13 tell us that this was during the reign of Artaxerxes king of Persia and a number of Israelites and priests left Babylon with him. 8 Ezra arrived in Jerusalem in the fifth month of the seventh year of the king. 9 He had begun his journey from Babylon on the first day of the first month, and he arrived in Jerusalem on the first day of the fifth month, for the gracious hand of his God was on him. 10 For Ezra had devoted himself to the study and observance of the Law of the LORD, and to teaching its decrees and laws in Israel.

Which of us knows more about the Law of God than Ezra (cp Mt 24:20)? If the new moons were regarded as Sabbaths, why imply difficult travel on new moon days? He would not have travelled on Sabbaths, during the holy days of Unleavened Bread and Pentecost.

Amos 8 might suggest that the new moon day is a Sabbath. Let’s look at it and remember that no other Scripture is conclusive about the new moon being a Sabbath.

Amos 8:1-6 This is what the LORD God showed me: a basket of ripe fruit. 2 “What do you see, Amos?” He asked. “A basket of ripe fruit,” I answered. Then the LORD said to me, “The time is ripe for my people Israel; I will spare them no longer (i.e., their use by date had come and gone. One does not throw away good ripe fruit. They had become rotten and were now a stench to God). 3 “In that day,” declares the LORD God, “the songs in the temple will turn to wailing. Many, many bodies—will be flung everywhere! Silence! 4 Hear this, you who trample on the needy and do away with the poor of the land, 5 saying, ‘When will the new moon be over that we may sell grain, and the Sabbath be ended that we may market wheat?’—skimping the measure, boosting the price and cheating with dishonest scales, 6 buying the poor with silver and the needy for a pair of sandals, selling even the sweepings with the wheat.”

The condemnation is primarily of lust, greed, lying and cheating. There is no doubt that regular work and business must not be conducted on Sabbaths. The Jewish Soncino edition of The Twelve Prophets gives this footnote about Amos 8:5—“They [the merchants] observed the holy days scrupulously, but were careless about commercial honesty! The new moon was observed as a festival or holiday (cf. 1 Sam. xx.5; Isa. i.13f.; Hos. ii.13)” (London: Soncino Press, 1957; p 147). We observe the festivals, but are all the festival days Sabbaths? The Sabbaths of the annual festivals are specifically named, as we know. New moons are not so addressed except by assumption. So we see that there are not two or three definitive witnesses to verify the new moons as Sabbaths (Mt 18:16; Dt 19:15).

Rev 12 describes John’s prophetic vision of church and world history expressed in ancient symbols. I’ll quote from footnotes in the NRSV Study Bible (A New Annotated Edition by the Society of Biblical Literature). The JB, NJB, NEB also have explanatory footnotes.

The great sign or portent in Heaven of the Woman, Child, and Dragon “is an adaptation of the myth of Apollo’s birth” [who is the Greek sun god and god of light]. The woman clothed with the sun represents “a cosmic queen (described much like Isis [the Egyptian mother of the gods and wife of the Egyptian saviour, Osiris]), [is] used as a symbol for both the Israel from whom the Messiah came and the church” [vv 6,14,17]. The 12 stars [on her crown] might allude to the Zodiac but represent “the twelve tribes of Israel,” also the 12 patriarchs of Israel, sons of Jacob, and the 12 apostles, who will be rulers over the tribes of the Israel of God (Mt 19:28; Lk 22:30; Gal 6:16; Rev 7:4-8; 14:1-4). Their names are in the foundations of the walls of the New Jerusalem (Rev 21:14) and symbolize entry into the Kingdom (Eph 2:19-22).

Perhaps we’re now better prepared to look at the first three verses of Rev 12.

Rev 12:1-3 A great sign appeared in heaven (a sign is meant to be interpreted as in “What is the sign of Your coming?” Mt 24:3): a Woman clothed with the sun (bathed by the sun), with the moon (selene) under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. 2 Then being with child, she cried out in labour and in pain to give birth. 3 And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great, fiery Red Dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and seven diadems on his heads.

With ten symbols in three verses (woman, sun, moon, stars, crown, male child, dragon, heads, horns, diadems) we are presented with a panorama of events. These symbols are common to ancient civilizations[2].

The closest parallel, however, to the narrative of the woman and the dragon is a Graeco-Roman version of the legend of Apollo’s birth [a sun god, god of light, a god of prophecy and shepherding; Helios was god of the sun; another name for Apollo]. Leto had become pregnant by Zeus [father of the gods]. The dragon Python foresaw that this child, a son, would replace him as ruler over the oracle at Delphi [i.e., the prophet of the gods would replace Python, that ancient Serpent who lusts for full control of prophecy and therefore of the world]. He sought to kill the child at birth. Zeus commissioned the North wind and the sea-god Poseidon to aid Leto. She gave birth to Apollo and Artemis[3]; Apollo slew the dragon Python. John [may have been aware of this kind of ancient mythology and] adapted the story to describe the birth of the Messiah. But this is not the only source. He glances back at the ancient myth of the perennial threat of chaos, as well as to a current reading of Gen 3.

This Graeco-Roman myth, like its many parallel myths, mimics Lucifer, who is typified in Python, parodies the Son of God, who is typified as Apollo. Apollo’s oracles were zealously sought at Delphi, in central Greece, for he was the messianic god of prophecy.

The woman, though first seen in a setting of splendor, is with child and close to delivery. Her birth-pangs may be those of Eve (Gen 3:16); they are, more immediately, the birth-pangs of travailing Israel. See Mic 4:10, “Writhe and groan, O daughter of Zion, like a woman in travail.” In rabbinical literature “birth-pangs of the Messiah” is a familiar phrase.

In stark contrast to the woman stands another sign: a great red dragon. Much earlier than the Python image is that of a dragon or sea-serpent as a mythic symbol of chaos. Babylonian and Canaanite texts mention a serpentine monster with seven heads (Sacra Pagina, Liturgical Press, 1993; pp 129-130).

The symbols Revelation uses go deep into the ancient past. But God challenges the demonic perversions of His Truth.

“John’s background is complex. The mother goddess, queen of heaven[4], was worshiped in the cities of Asia. John may be suggesting that the Woman here is the true Queen of Heaven.” Many scholars interpret this similarly (p 128).[5]

Perhaps we’re reminded of the parabolic and prophetic dreams of Joseph in Gen 37 that provoked his brothers to sell him to slave traders. Joseph eventually became second in Egypt and a means of saving his parents and brothers from famine. The sheaves of harvest of the sons of Jacob gathered together to bow before the sheaf representing Joseph.

Gen 37:9-11 Joseph dreamed another dream and told it to his brothers, “Look, I’ve had another dream. This time, the sun, the moon, and the eleven stars bowed down to me.” 10 He told it to his father and his brothers; his father rebuked him and said, “What is this dream that you’ve dreamed? Shall your mother and I and your brothers come to bow down to the earth before you?” (Of course not! The dream was symbolic of something more complex). 11 His brothers envied him, but his father kept the matter in mind (wondering what all this meant in view of his own God-revealed hopes and experiences; Gen 28:10-17; 32:22-31; Heb 11:21-22).

Jacob, spoken of so highly and prophetically elsewhere in the Scriptures, would not be “bowing” to Joseph. So what does the dream mean? The family understood that the sun represented Jacob and the moon Joseph’s mother, Rachel. She is spoken of in Jer 31:15—Rachel weeping for her children (Benjamin and Joseph; Gen 35:24). Mt 2:18 applies this prophecy to the horrific attempt to murder the new-born Jesus with the result that many innocent children died at the hands of Satan’s agent, Herod[6]. Jacob’s response to Joseph’s dream indicated that he needed to further contemplate God’s intent in the symbols.

When Israel left Egypt, Egypt’s redeemer was Osiris, and his wife, Isis, was identified by the Greeks as Demeter, goddess of harvests, or as Hera, wife of Zeus, or as Selene, the moon goddess, ‘the bright one.’ All the gods of Egypt, and of the world, have been and will be utterly disgraced as will their priests, seers, prophets, magi, diviners, astrologers, sorcerers (Ex 12:12; Num 33:4; Is 56:10-12; Jer 14:13-16; 23:25-40; Ezk 22:28-31).

is in total contrast to the Whore of Rev 17, the Mother of Harlots (v 5), and with whom the kings of the earth fornicate (v 2). John saw the Harlot in his vision (v 3); she is dressed in purple, scarlet, gold, jewels, pearls, and holds a golden cup of abominations (v 4)[7].

We are presented with amazingly beautiful symbolism referring to the Bride of Christ in the Song of Songs.

Song 6:9-10 My Dove, my perfect one, is unique, the only daughter of her mother, the favourite of the one who bore her. The maidens saw her and called her blessed; the queens and concubines praised her. 10 Who is this that appears like the dawn, fair as the moon (lebanah, “the white lady”; and surely in its fullness), bright as the sun, majestic as the stars in procession?

The moon reflects a little of the power of the sun. Is the church to reflect, while waxing and waning, a little of the power of the Sun of Righteousness? If the Church is clothed with the sun, should it not reflect the fullness, or as much as possible of the glory of the Son of God? Is not the Holy Spirit the power of God Almighty and the means of being a Light in the world—always available and always to increase? Should that power of the Light of God wax and wane as the moon does? The Song of Songs describes the Woman, the Bride of Christ, beautiful as the full moon at night, but bright as the sun, and awesome as all the stars of the heavens in procession! That is God’s intent! But current reality seems otherwise.

The Woman, who gave birth to the Son of God, is clothed with the Sun (see 2Cor 5:1-8 where Paul speaks of being clothed in the body of the resurrection; 1Cor 15:35-44). The Woman, as the rest of the chapter makes clear is the Church—has the Dragon enraged with her and it makes war on her offspring (Rev 12:6,13,17). Mal 4:2 calls the Son of God, the Sun of Righteousness, who arises with healing on His wings. The wings may represent the sun’s life-giving rays which appear as a winged sun disc on many Middle Eastern artefacts. But it is the Sun of Righteousness who gives Life, Light, Healing. He is the conqueror of all the gods of this world. His Bride and Wife is the Church. And yet the Church, the Woman, is symbolized as giving birth to Him (Should not the Church be an instrument of revealing the true Jesus Christ to the world? But have we really ever experienced that?) The Rev 12 symbolism is a literary way of expressing rejection of all false gods and mythical symbols and predicts the overthrow of all lying myths and ungodly cultures and those who insist in identifying with them against the Truth.

So the Woman standing on the moon represents the Church, by the power of Christ, having conquered the weaknesses of waxing, waning, appearing, disappearing. Rev 12:1 has the last biblical reference to something being under the feet. And since the Bible is our measure, we are led to conclude that despite the historic pattern of the weakness of the Church and God’s people—in cyclically reflecting a small part of the glory of God—she will be perfect, fully clothed in the Sun of Righteousness. That which was intended is her restoration and regeneration which will come when she gives forth the fullness of the Glory of the Almighty.

Why and how then should we observe new moons? What should our observance mean to us? We can make binding decisions, even if we have to meet in twos or threes and have decided in sincerity and truth and in the Name of the Jesus Christ (Mt 18:19-20; also Mt 16:19; Jn 20:22; 1Cor 5:3-5).

Key elements of the moon’s symbolism show how these tie in with OT and NT verses. Let’s recall part of a quote from Mircea Eliade given earlier:

“A periodic regeneration of time presupposes, in more or less explicit form—and especially in historic civilizations—a new creation, that is, a repetition of the cosmogonic act [i.e., the origin of the universe as interpreted by cultures]. And this conception of a periodic creation, i.e., of cyclical regeneration of time, poses the problem of the abolition of “history”.”[8]

For there will be new heavens and new earth! There will be a ready Bride who will power forth eternally with the fullness of the Sun of Righteousness:

Rev 21:9-11 speaks of this fullness: One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the Bride, the Wife of the Lamb.” 10 He carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of Heaven from God. 11 It shone with the Glory of God, and its brilliance was like that of a very precious jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal, i.e., never waxing nor waning again.

How fascinating it is that notions of regeneration and restoration, implied in the cycles of the moon, are also seen in the definitions of the key Hebrew word for moon, new moon and month, chōdhesh, and renewal, chādhāsh.

The word translated as ‘regeneration’ is palingenesis; it means a new genesis; a new beginning; to reconstitute; renew to a higher existence; come back from death to life (TDNT.I.686-689).

Tit 3:5 uses this word: God saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth (palingenesia; Jn 3:1-21; Christ’s discussion with Nicodemus, speaks of this rebirth) and renewal by the Holy Spirit—and that means ever increasing Light.

Acts 3:21 Christ must remain in Heaven until the time comes for God for the restoration of all things, as He promised long ago through His holy prophets.

The word is apokatastasis (TDNT.I.387-393). It means to restore to an earlier condition, which was and is in the mind of God; to renew the world cosmologically; to reconstitute and restore. Apokatastasis is favoured by some young modern musicians who write music condemning this decadent world.

We therefore conclude that our observance of new moons is meant to bring to mind the urgent necessity of behaviour that recognizes the recurring rising and falling of the saints and the Church throughout history. But we must consistently increase—not wax and wane, not appear and disappear! We must imbibe the prophetic vision that in having arisen out of our former Darkness we grow, we increase into the fullness of the Light of God—which is Christ in us.

2Cor 4:16 encourages us with this assurance: We do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is renewed day by day (never to wane).

Eph 4:24 speaks similarly: Be clothed as a new man, created according to the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness (also see 2Chr 6:41; 1Cor 15:53).

If we truly desire to experience this according to the power of God, the Holy Spirit, then no one can judge us in the matter of new moon observance.

May the mercy and grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with us all — more and more!

Immediately after presenting the topic, NEW MOONS – SYMBOLISM AND OBSERVANCE, a question and a comment from the audience about Is 66:22-23 gave me cause to re-examine what Isaiah said and also what Ezk 46:1-3 says. We’ll look at these verses and see how they impact on what has been presented. Let’s first quote them from the NJPS and then examine them.

Is 66:22-23, from the Judaic perspective, different to other translations, says: For as the new heaven and the new earth which I will make shall endure by My will—declares the LORD—so shall your seed and your name endure. 23 And new moon after new moon, and Sabbath after Sabbath, all flesh shall come to worship Me—said the LORD.

Ezk 46:1-3 Thus said the Lord GOD: The gate of the inner court which faces east shall be closed on the six working days; it shall be opened on the Sabbath day and it shall be opened on the day of the new moon (It might be inferred from this that the new moons are Sabbaths). 2 The prince (i.e., David; Ezk 34:24; 37:24-25) shall enter by way of the vestibule outside the gate, and shall attend at the gatepost while the priests sacrifice his burnt offering and his offering of well-being; he shall then bow low at the threshold of the gate and depart. The gate, however, shall not be closed until evening. 3 The common people shall worship before the LORD on Sabbaths and new moons at the entrance of the same gate.

Let’s consider the NJPS interpretation combined with other translations and the Hebrew.

23 And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one Sabbath to another, all flesh

shall come to worship before Me (lühišTaHáwöt lüpänay.), says the LORD.

The KJV marginal note for v 23 has (Oxford University Press edition): “Heb. from new moon to his new moon, and from sabbath to his sabbath.” The Jamieson, Fausset, Brown Commentary (first published in 1868; Eerdmans, 1982) has the same. Verse 23 might be put as—in view of the Hebrew transliteration:

“And it shall be that from one new moon to his new moon, and from one Sabbath to his Sabbath, all flesh shall worship before My Face,” says the LORD.

wühäyâ mi|DDê-Höºdeš BüHodšô ûmiDDê šaBBät BüšaBBaTTô

It shall come to pass from new moon to His new moon from Sabbath to His Sabbath,

What reasons are there for saying, “from new moon to his new moon” and “from Sabbath to his Sabbath” and “worship before my Face”?

“These are My feasts,” (´ëºllè hëm mô`ádäy) says the LORD in Lev 23:2. They are called “the feasts of the LORD” (´ëºllè mô`ádê yhwh) in Lev 23:4,37,44; 2Chr 2:4; 31:3; Ezra 3:5; Hos 9:5; Ezk 46:9. However, in abhorrence of corruption of the LORD’s feasts, He calls them “your feasts.” Please carefully note the word structures of the Hebrew interlinear:

Is 1:13-14 says: Bring no more vain offerings; incense is an abomination to Me. New moon and sabbath and the calling of assemblies—I cannot endure iniquity and solemn assembly. 14 Your new moons and your appointed feasts (Hodšêkem ûmô`ádêkem) My soul hates; they have become a burden to Me, I am weary of bearing them.

Hos 2:11 speaks likewise: I will stop all her celebrations (Kol-müSôSäh), her festivals (HaGGäh), her new moons (Hodšäh) and her Sabbath days (wüšaBBaTTäh) and all her appointed feasts (wüköl mô`ádäh).

Amos 5:21 expresses God’s anger: I hate, I scorn your festivals (HaGGêkem), I take no pleasure in your solemn assemblies (`accürö|têkem).

The grammar of Is 66:23 allows for the third person “his new moon” and “his Sabbath” in view of the second person “your feasts” and the first person “my feasts” of Lev 23:2. Who does the ‘his’ refer to?

When the remnant of the nations come to Jerusalem to observe the special convocations of the LORD, they will be observing His times and His mode of worship—not theirs—as these verses show:

Ps 22:27 All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the LORD, and all the families of the nations will bow down before Him, 28 for dominion belongs to the LORD and He rules over the nations.

Ps 66:4 All the earth shall worship You and sing praises to You; they shall sing praises to Your Name. Selah.

Ps 86:9 All the nations You have made will come and worship before You, O Lord; they will bring glory to Your Name.

Zech 14:16 It shall come to pass that everyone who is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Tabernacles.

Rev 15:4 Who shall not fear You, O Lord, and glorify Your Name? For You alone are holy. For all nations shall come and worship before You, for Your judgments have been manifested.

Is 66:23 may be read as: “And it shall be that from one new moon to his new moon, and from one Sabbath to his Sabbath, all flesh shall worship before My Face (lüpänay),” says the LORD. Do we have reasonable cause for this translation and the emphasis to “his new moon” and “His Sabbath”?

The OT Hebrew for “face” is panim, and with its variants occurs over 2100 times. As in English, it has a huge range of meanings. We use face in many ways: about face, face-ache, beautiful face, double-faced, face as long as a fiddle, face-lift, face that launched a thousand ships, face the music, face to face, face value, laugh on the other side of one’s face, put on a face, make faces, save face, put a face on the matter, “Shut your face!,” fall on one’s face, face of the earth, “Don’t show your face!,” face up to reality, on the face of it, his face shows what he feels, etc, etc.

Hebrew too has a large range of meanings. The Hebrew for “face” is panim, which is plural. As an unqualified noun it occurs 402 times. The Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament (TDOT. XI.589-615) gives 27 pages to its meanings and usage. What does it mean in Is 66:23? The end of the sentence could be translated: worship before Me, or worship before My Face. In the latter part of the TDOT panim definitions, it says: “All the fundamental relationships between God and human beings can be described by pānîm and its associated expressions… Insofar as pānîm bespeaks presence (and a plurality of meanings), its purpose is to underline the positive aspect of inter-personal relationship. The negative aspect of the relationship is expressed by separation from pānîm” (p 607). Separation is from Christ, the Face of God, and from the Father, and from all their characteristics .

During Jesus’ last supper with the apostles, Philip asked Him, “Show us the Father” (Jn 14:8). Jesus’ response was, “He who has seen Me, has seen the Father” (Jn 14:9). Generally, this reply is seen as speaking of Jesus’ characteristics and qualities being the same as the Father’s, i.e., that Jesus came to reveal the likeness of the Father, as stated in these verses:

But is that all that Philip was asking? He probably became compelled to give more thought to Jesus’ answer to his question and the earlier statements of Jn 12:45 and 13:20. The larger answer is consistent with our understanding of the nature of God Almighty, and His Son, and the Heavenly Council, which includes the 24 elders, cherubim, seraphim, archangels and angels. Jesus Christ is the Face of GOD. Those who see Jesus Christ see God.

Ex 25:23-30 gives the first biblical discussion of what is often called the Table of Shewbread. Ex 25:30 gives the instruction:

(cf. NASB, NEB, NIV, RSV, NRSV) Put the Bread of the Presence on this table to be before Me at all times.

We realize that everything in the Tabernacle was a shadow of things to come and the Bread of Presence foreshadowed the Bread of Life which perfectly represents the life and presence of the Father in the children of God. In Hebrew the Bread of Presence is leºHem Pänîm. The leºHem Pänîm was to be present before the LORD Almighty always, i.e., as the end of the sentence has:

leºHem Pänîm lüpänay Tämîd (literally) the Bread of Presence (Face) before Me always.

Immediately after the Golden Calf incident Israel was told to leave the Sinai, which is probably named after the Babylonian moon god Sîn, which was worshipped in Ur, where Abraham was born and lived his first sixty years (Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible, pp 782-3). In Ex 33:13-15 the presence of the LORD entered the Tabernacle:

Moses says: “Now therefore, I pray, if I have found grace in Your sight, show me now Your Way, that I may know You and that I may find grace in Your sight. And consider that this nation is Your people.” 14 And He said, “My Presence (Pänay) will go with you, and I will give you rest.” 15 Then Moses responded, “If Your Presence (PänÊ) does not go with us, don’t bring us up from here.”

If Jesus Christ is not leading us, we are lost and in the Dark. Christ is the Presence of His God and Father.

Who was it that spoke to Moses and led Israel through the wilderness into the Promised Land? 1Cor 10:1-4 makes connections with Israel’s crossing of the Red Sea (Ex 14 and 15), being fed in the wilderness (Ex 16), given water from the Rock (Ex 17). They were led by Christ as 1Cor 10:4 says: “They drank of the spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ.”

Within the context of the covenant made with Israel (Ex 19:3-24:8) there is God’s promise of care for His people.

In Ex 23:20-23 the Messenger or Angel of the LORD is quoting His Father: “Behold, I’m sending an Angel before you to keep you in the Way and to bring you into the place which I have prepared. 21 Beware of Him and obey His voice; do not provoke Him, for He will not pardon your transgressions (which Christ does by being our Redeemer and Advocate with the Father; 1Jn 2:1-2); for My Name is in Him (i.e., the many names and titles of the Almighty God are given to His Son). 22 But if you indeed obey His voice and do all that I say, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries. 23 For My Angel will go before you and bring you in to the Amorites and the Hittites and the Perizzites and the Canaanites and the Hivites and the Jebusites; and I will cut them off.”

Christ always has done, does, and forever will do the Will of His God and Father.

Is 63:9 is consistent with Ex 23, with 1Cor 10 and many other Scriptures which identify the pre-incarnate Jesus Christ in the OT as the Messenger of God and the Angel of the LORD:

In all their affliction He was afflicted (both the Father and Son have complete empathy with the trials and tribulations of the saints and all people), and the Angel of His Presence (ûmal´ak Pänäyw) saved them (the Hebrew for ‘face’ also means ‘presence’); in His love and in His pity He redeemed them; and He bore them and carried them all the days of old (malak; TDOT.VIII.308-325; malak YHWH / malak Elohim; pp 317-324).

Lam 4:16, part of Jeremiah’s brilliant poem about the destruction of the Temple and nation, includes these words:

The Face of the LORD (Pünê yhwh) scattered them (i.e., the divine being who was and is the Face of God to mankind); He no longer regards them (for there is a point of no return in the matter of sin). They do not respect the priests nor show respect to the elders.

Let’s refer again to Is 66:23, “And it shall be that from one new moon to his new moon, and from one Sabbath to his Sabbath, all flesh shall worship before My Face,” says the LORD. Perhaps we can understand that when we observe the Lord’s Supper, weekly Sabbaths, new moons, festivals and festival Sabbaths, we meet under the care of the Shepherd of the Israel of God, the one who always does the Will of His God and Father, the one who is the Presence and the Face of God. He inspires and guides us as to why and how and what we should do.

We’ll consider Ezk 46:1-6 because we also need to look at the difference between OT sacrifices and the new moon sacrifices of what we believe to be in the millennial Temple.

Ezk 46:1-3 says: Thus said the Lord GOD: The gate of the inner court which faces east shall be closed on the six working days; it shall be opened on the Sabbath day and it shall be opened on the day of the new moon. 2 The prince shall enter by way of the vestibule outside the gate, and shall attend at the gatepost while the priests sacrifice his burnt offering and his offering of well-being; he shall then bow low at the threshold of the gate and depart. The gate, however, shall not be closed until evening. 3 All the people shall worship before the LORD on Sabbaths and new moons at the entrance of the same gate.

One might imply from this that in the future the new moons will be regarded as Sabbaths. However, Ezk 45:17 says,

This shall be the obligation of the prince regarding the burnt offerings, grain offerings, and drink offerings, at the festivals (BaHaGGîm), and the new moons (ûbeHódäšîm), and the Sabbaths (ûbaššaBBätôt), and all the appointed festivals (Büko|l-mô`ádê) of the house of Israel: he shall provide the sin offerings, grain offerings, the burnt offerings and the peace offerings to make atonement for the house of Israel.

Do we conclude from this that all festival days are Sabbaths? We do when specifically told by the word of God.

The East Gate symbolizes the direction from which Christ will come and gather the resurrected saints to the Mt of Olives (Zech 14:4; Mt 24:27). The people will express gratitude and praise to the Almighty Father for having sent His Son and thus ended the relentless cycle of weak Light and Darkness.

Let’s compare the Sabbath and new moon sacrifices as described in Num 28 and Ezk 46.

This simplified tabulation of the differences between the old and future Temple are surely symbolically significant. What do the details of these sacrifices symbolize and do the explanations add to our understanding of the Sabbaths and new moons?

Num 28:9-10 speaks of the weekly Sabbath offering lambs sacrificed with the addition of 2/10 of an ephah of grain (about 4.5kg), & 2/10 of a hin of oil & wine (about 720mls; a hin is 1/6 of an ephah).

These two lambs probably represent the Lamb of God offered for Christians before and after Christ’s first Coming. Two-tenths of an ephah of flour was offered with each lamb. Perhaps this double measure represents the joining together of Christians from both periods. Ezk 37:15-22 speaks of the two sticks, Judah and Ephraim, finally joined together. Zech 2:1-2; 4:8-9; 6:11-15 speak of the miraculous unity between the prophetic re-builders of the spiritual Temple still ahead of us (Rev 11:1-14).

What does the ephah dry measure mean? Ezk 45:11 says one ephah = 1 bath, which is a liquid measure of about 22 litres (TWOT, Item 494; TIBD, pp 1637-9; NIV, NRSV study Bibles). Ten homers make one ephah (TWOT, Item 1645). Ex 16:36 says that a homer of flour was offered as the wave offering, which also represents Christ’s resurrection as the Firstfruits (Lev 23:11,15).

The 12 brass bulls that were the supports around the circular brass cistern or laver holding 3000 baths represented the leaders of the tribes of Israel. The apostles, on the day of Pentecost in 30AD, who would be leaders over the Israel of God, baptized 3000 adults as an outcome of their preaching in the temple precincts.

The Zech 5:5-11 vision speaks of a woman in a basket which is equated with an ephah. This ephah basket is sealed with a lead lid and the woman symbolizes worldwide evil that will burst forth. Two winged women, perhaps representing the churches on each side of John the Baptist (Mt 11:13; Lk 16:16), take this basket and contents to be put into the house built for it in Babylon. Jer 51:7 and Rev 17:1-6 tell us that Babylon is deranged with evil and is instrumental in massive destruction. Since an ephah represents humanity (or an individual; interpreting the basket ephah of Zech 5:5-11), a tenth of an ephah represents a Remnant (cp. Mal 2:15 which speaks of remnant spirit in marital division). And Christ gathers all the scattered Remnant to Himself.

Six is the number of man, man’s works and efforts, man’s history. Six lambs represent and emphasize the offering of the Lamb of God for the sins of the world and the intent to save all mankind throughout history. In the millennial setting of this sacrifice the exercise of free-will in the amount of flour offered with each of the six lambs is indicative of the desire to maximize expressions of gratitude for the sacrifice of the Lamb for the sins of the world. The flour represents the Bread of Life.

There seems to be no biblical explanation for the differences in daily, Sabbath, new moon, festival sacrifices between Numbers and Ezekiel. The Talmud (finally compiled about 600AD) states that the discrepancies will be explained when Elijah comes (R. K. Harrison, Introduction to the Old Testament; Eerdmans, 1991; p 823). Elijah, however, has been and gone (Mt 11:1-14; 17:11-12).

The daily burnt offering, mid-morning and mid-afternoon, was a lamb with a tenth of an ephah of grain (which is about 2.2kg), plus a quarter of a hin of oil and wine (about a litre or less; Ex 29:38-42; Num 28:2-8). The morning offering fire was kept alight all day and the evening offering fire was kept alight all night (Lev 6:8-13). It appears, from Ezk 46:13-15, that the daily burnt offering of the future is only in the morning: a year old lamb, a sixth of an ephah of flour and a third of a hin of oil.

The Sabbath burnt offering doubled the daily burnt offerings (Num 28:9-10). Silver trumpets were blown during these sacrifices (Num 10:10; Ps 81:3).

Each Sabbath morning the twelve loaves of the Bread of Presence, representing the Bread of Life in the Israel of God, were replaced with fresh bread. This suggests that those who eat of the Bread of Life meet afresh each Sabbath (Lev 24:5-9). The acacia wood table (measuring 2 x 1 x 1.5 cubits; about a metre long, half a metre wide, three-quarters of a metre high) was covered in beaten gold and stood to the right of the incense altar in front of the door to the Holy of Holies (Ex 25:23-30). The seven lamps on the lamp-stand were to the left (Ex 25: 31-40; see Rev 1:16,20; 2:1)

The two bulls represent the kingship of Christ over the people of God in each of the covenant periods (cp the twelve bulls holding the 3000 baths of water in front of the Temple; 2Chr 4:4-5; 1Ki 7:25-26; Ezra 8:35; Acts 2:41). The ram symbolizes Christ’s leadership over the one flock. Jn 10:14-16 speaks of the Good Shepherd; Gen 22:13 tells us the ram replaced Isaac, who typified Christ; Ex 29:26 shows us that the ram represents Aaron as high priest over Israel.

The two-tenths of an ephah of flour with the ram represents the leadership over the flock that encompasses OT and NT Christians, those who identify with the Bread of Life. The seven lambs represent completion of salvation for the entire history of mankind. We might compare the seven churches of Rev 2 and 3 which may represent church history from Christ’s ministry to His Second Coming—they are the firstfruits of the vast numbers called through the ages (Mt 22:14).

The bull symbolizes the strong leadership of Christ as king over Israel. The ram represents Him as shepherd over the entire flock. The six lambs represent mankind’s salvation through the Shepherd, the Lamb of God (Jn 1:29,36; Rev 5:6; 6:16; 7:9-10,17).

What general conclusions may we make that amplify our understanding and which do not contradict any Scriptures?

The future sacrifices and rituals the saints will see and will marvel at ever more. We will see them as mystery acts, as parables of history. These various sacrifices symbolize Christ’s work in the unfolding Plan of Salvation masterminded by His God and Father. God wants all people to be saved. He wants all to come to repentance. Implicit in the sacrifices, because there is so much shedding of blood of animals, is an awesome message: despite the immense efforts in offering salvation to as many as possible, many will refuse to see, to hear, and to heed!

The significance of the new moons stands as representing the end of the rise and fall, the end of waxing and waning of the light of the people of God. It’s going to cost lots more, lots more in our own lives too, and that will be universally acknowledged.

Though I’ve spent considerable time and effort in giving this much on the subject, it ought to be evident that there is much more to understand—for there is ever more to seek, find, and explain.

Is 66:23 says in effect: All flesh will have to come to worship the Almighty Father and do it before the Face of God, Jesus Christ, the King of kings and LORD of lords, and during His appointed times.

We may reasonably infer that the Sabbaths and new moons revealed by the Spirit of God through Christ, belong to Him, are His, for He is the Head of the Body, the Church, and He is its High Priest leading in the worship of His God and Father.

A great hope of mine is that our urgent hunger and thirst for God’s righteousness and His will shall result in growth in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ—a growth that changes us more and more to the delight of God.

Please study this carefully. May God’s grace and power be with you all as you hunger for the means to attain more and more towards the perfection our mighty Father desires (Mt 5:48).

[1] The prophets tell us many Sabbath-keepers corrupt the Sabbaths (Is 1:11-15; Ezk 20:11-25; Hos 2:11-13; Amos 5:21-22). The Sabbath is established from creation and is prophetic (Gen 1:14,31; 2:1-4; Ex 20:8-11; 31:16-17; Ezk 20:12-24; Jer 17:19-27).

[2] The Greek translation of the OT [the Septuagint or LXX] uses the term [Dragon] for Leviathan, the enemy of God [Ps 74:14; Is 27:1]. A dragon with seven heads (see 13.1; 17.3) [is] a figure in Ugaritic mythology [Ugarit or Ras Shamra is an ancient coastal city in northern Syria], [which] symbolizes seven successive rulers (17.10); the ten horns (see Dan 7.7,20,24) represent ten subordinate kingdoms (17.12) (NRSV, HarperCollins Study Bible).

[3] Artemis’s attributes are shifted also to Ishtar, Diana, Isis, who are sexual companions to Tammuz (who is the Assyro-Babylonian messiah), Adonis, a Greek saviour, and Osiris, the Egyptian messiah.

[4] The Queen of Heaven was a major source of delusion to the remnant who survived the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple in 587 BC; Jer 44:17-28. See Mt 24:4,24; 2Th 2:9-12; Rev 12:9.

[5] E.g., James Moffatt, The Expositor’s Bible, Revelation; Hans Licht, Sexual Life in Ancient Greece; Geoffrey Ashe, The Virgin; The Interpreter’s Bible, Vol XII; Revelation, Abingdon Press, 1957.

[6] Jer 31 is a stunning chapter that declares God’s love for Israel (v 3). God declares Fatherhood over Israel and Ephraim the firstborn of Israel (v 9), which he wasn’t (so there is symbolic meaning in choosing Ephraim). Furthermore, his mother, Asenath, was Egyptian and her father was high priest in Heliopolis, City of the Sun (Gen 41:45). The Virgin of Israel (Jer 31:21), the entire nation, Judah and Israel, would become one under the New Covenant (vv 31-33; also Ezk 37:15-22). Joseph became instrumental in having all Israel gathered in Egypt so that years later they would all come out together and exodus to the Promised Land. We bow to whatever is the Will of God. We give credit to whoever God is using—according to the Word of God (Lk 10:16; Jn 13:20; Is 8:20; 2Jn 10). We seek to understand God’s Way of doing things—do we not?

[7] The Virgin of Ezk 16, before becoming exceedingly adulterous, is described prophetically as dressed in gold, silver, silk, fine linen, embroidery, jewellery, very beautiful in appearance and internationally famous (vv 12-14). It is evident that the Mother of Harlots is a parody of the Woman of Ezk 16? The Whore—the City that rules over the hearts and minds of the kings of the earth (Rev 17:18)—is destroyed (Rev 17:16). The Great Whore is also a woman and a city, which, as Rev 18:16 says, is clothed in fine linen (righteousness), purple (royalty and nobility), scarlet (redemption and life), adorned with gold (purity and richness), precious stones and pearls (priesthood and truths). Quite obviously, these symbols, taken on by Babylon are counterfeits and mockeries of the Holy City and those whose citizenship is in Heaven (Is 54:1-8; Mic 4:6-13).

[8] “Although for the ancient inhabitants of Mesopotamia, the moon’s growth, disappearance and re-mergence in a never-ending cycle personified change, it was a change viewed from within the larger parameters of continuity. In fact, of all the nocturnal luminaries, the changes in shape and position of the moon were the most readily accessible to observe and chart. Its waxing and waning might symbolize both finite time and eternity, light transforming into darkness, and life into death and back again. Thus, lunar motion came to represent both the natural and cultural life cycle of birth, growth, decay, and death. The moon’s periodic movements also functioned as the determining factor in the measurement of the year, the month and ultimately the entire cultic calendar. Major time periods and holidays were set to the phases of the moon” (Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible; Leiden: Brill, 1999; p 586).