New Moons and Armstrongism: Keep Them Or Not?

United Church of God has an article about the church calendar and moons. It is always fun to watch various COG groups claim new moons are not to be kept by Christians today and yet they base all of their calculations for their 'festivals' off the timing of those new moons. Then, on the other hand, to see those COG groups that demand new moons be kept.

Divinely Appointed Times and the Next Full Moon 

Greetings everyone, 

 

This past full moon of Sept. 17 was called the Harvest Moon, named this way because this moon graces the skies during the harvest season each year. As we observed the lunar cycle, we are reminded the next full moon will signal the beginning of the Feast of Tabernacles. 

 

This is very appropriate, as God says in Leviticus 23:39 regarding the Feast of Tabernacles: “Also on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have gathered in the fruit of the land [your harvest], you shall keep the feast of the LORD for seven days; on the first day there shall be a sabbath-rest, and on the eighth day a sabbath-rest.” 

 

The Holy Days center around and teach us about God’s plan for all mankind and the centrality of Jesus Christ’s role in every step toward its completion. And the cycles of the moon help us determine the time of God’s festivals. Yet for most of traditional Christianity, these biblical feasts are thought to have been kept only by the Jews and are considered meaningless for Christians.

Frank Nelte has a long detailed article about the fallacies of Herbert Armstrong and his understanding of new moons, fixed dates, the start of the church year in the spring, and the continuity of the Jewish calendar.

He states this in one section:

What credibility can we extend to religious leaders who felt they had the liberty "to construe biblical texts at their pleasure"? They were clearly hypocrites in the way they dealt with the Scriptures; yet they supposedly dealt with something not even recorded in the Bible (their calendar) with the utmost integrity? 

 

Where do the supporters of the present Jewish calendar find the faith to place such confidence in the integrity of religious leaders to faithfully preserve something that had supposedly been handed down from Old Testament times (the secret rules of the calendar), when it is freely admitted that those same leaders interpreted all of the Scriptures to suit their own ends? These are the very leaders in whose steps Hillel II followed almost 300 years later. It didn't bother Hillel II one bit that he placed the Last Great Day a full week before the end of summer; he too was, after all, simply "construing biblical texts at his pleasure" 

 

Next, Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong's claim that the present Jewish calendar has come down intact without change since 100 AD, that this is proved by history, IS SIMPLY NOT TRUE!
Where did he get his facts from? What are his historical sources? Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong makes a point in this letter that "Brother Dodd" wasn't very clear about his source material for wanting to change the date of the Passover. Yet Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong is equally unclear about where history supposedly proves that the present Jewish calendar has been without change since 100 AD. THE JEWS THEMSELVES don't claim that their present calendar goes back to 100 AD. The starting date of the present Jewish calendar proves beyond any doubts that the very earliest the present Jewish calendar could have come into existence is about 150 AD ... after the destruction of Jerusalem in the 130's AD. An Examination of Mr. Armstrong's 1940 Good News Letter About 'The Calendar'

Nelte goes into detail about how the Jewish calendar actually "lost" 200 years from its calculations and yet Armstrong claims they preserved the true calendar.

Of course, there is the perpetual bogeyman that Armstrong and the church fall back upon when it cannot explain things well. Blame the Catholic Church!

Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong then continues to say: 

 

"The Catholics are the ones who have thought to CHANGE the Times. They say the paschal new moon this year is the one BEFORE March 21st, and figure Easter accordingly. The Jews say it is the one AFTER March 21st." 

 

Here Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong uses "before and after" March 21st (spring equinox) as a criterion. The Catholics were clearly wrong and the Jews were clearly right in this instance. But what about those years where the Jews ALSO say the new moon BEFORE March 21st is the one to start the year with? What if THE JEWS want to start the year in the winter? 

 

For example, in 1937 (3 years before this letter in 1940) the Jewish calendar started the year with March 13th (well before March 21st!), kept the Passover on March 26th, and the wavesheaf would have been required on March 28th. Why was this acceptable in 1937 when it was not acceptable in 1940? Is there a line of division somewhere between a Passover on March 23rd (the evening of March 22nd) which is NOT acceptable, but a Passover on March 26th (the evening of March 25th) which IS acceptable? WHY would there be a line between March 23rd and 26th? On what grounds could such a line be drawn? An Examination of Mr. Armstrong's 1940 Good News Letter About 'The Calendar'

In regard to Armstrong changing the date for Pentecost Nelte says this about the Jewish calendar:

And so the real problem with the Jewish calendar is that THIS FOUNDATIONAL PREMISE IS NEVER PROVED! IT IS ALWAYS ONLY ASSERTED! SOME OTHER PERIPHERAL POINTS MAY BE PRESENTED AS "PROOF", BUT THE FOUNDATIONAL PREMISE OF ROMANS 3:2 APPLYING TO THE CALENDAR IS NEVER PROVED! WHY IS IT THAT THIS MOST BASIC FOUNDATION IN THE WHOLE QUESTION SHOULD BE ACCEPTED WITHOUT ANY REAL PROOF? An Examination of Mr. Armstrong's 1940 Good News Letter About 'The Calendar'

A lot of Nelte's article is about Herbert Armstrong claiming he did "exhaustive" research into the calendar, moons, fixed dates, etc. Nelte pretty much debunks that fact. When HWA uses the "exhaustive" claim, we pretty much need to question the use, which Nelte does rather well.

Here you can see how Herb danced around new moons:

There is no authority or teaching in the Bible to calculate any of these days differently than they did in Moses’ day -- when the new moons were seen by the naked eye at Jerusalem. 

We calculate the beginning of months, even as did Jesus and the first apostles -- not as a holy day or convocation -- yet the spring and fall festivals are reckoned from the first days of their months, and it IS important that we calculate properly. NEVERTHELESS, even so, since these are CHURCH festivals, they must be calculated by the CHURCH, through Christ’s chosen apostle, as Christ leads. We follow Jesus Christ’s own example. He did not change or alter the calculating of these months but observed them as Judah had calculated them ever since Moses.

The apostles made NO CHANGE in the calculations. Neither do I, or God’s Church of our day. We observe these days, as originally calculated as inspired by God, from Jerusalem, WHEN these same days come to us on a round earth.  The Journal: News of the Churches of God. Issue 200, November 2017, p. 4

COGWA has this to say:

"Some claim that the apostle Paul’s reference to new moons in Colossians 2:16 is evidence that the Church of God should “observe” new moons, but is this really true?

We must be careful not to read too much into this verse. This reference offers no details about what the believers in Colosse did in regard to new moons. Therefore, it is inaccurate to point to this verse as proof that Christians must keep new moons today."

"Being aware of the new moons has to do with the Hebrew calendar. The calendar used to calculate the festivals is different from the modern calendar in use in the world today, which is based upon the movement of the earth around the sun. It is a solar calendar. In contrast, the Hebrew calendar is a lunar-solar calendar, which includes the cycle of the moon as it revolves around the earth as well as the movement of the sun in its calculations. For that reason, knowing when the new moon occurs is important. 

 

(Some might argue that observing the new moon has something to do with observing the Sabbath, but the cycles of the sun and the moon have nothing to do with the seven-day cycle of a week. Therefore, when the Sabbath occurs is not determined by when the new moon occurs.) 

 

A careful study of the Bible shows that God never commanded Israel to “celebrate” the arrival of the new moon as a holy day. Only God can make time holy, and there is no scriptural evidence that God designated new moons as holy or sacred time, other than that one festival. Therefore, we have no biblical basis to observe new moons in the same manner as the annual festivals. 

 

It is still important to be aware of when the new moon falls, but only for the reason that Israel and the first-century Church needed to be aware of it. That is, to understand when the festivals occur. Christians today do not need to “observe” the new moon as holy time." New Moons: Should Christians Observe Them?

This is how John Ritenbaugh dances around the topic:

Though definitely not on the level of a festival, the new moons are associated with them much like the preparation day is associated with the weekly Sabbath. The lesser one points to and helps prepare us for the arrival of the greater, more important one. The preparation day, though not commanded, plays an important role in effective Sabbath keeping. Thus, it and the new moons are more like tools than commanded observances, but very important tools that should not be neglected. At the very least, carefully mark their passing. If you establish a custom for keeping them, remember it is your custom, not God's. The New Moons

In Armstrongism you can find hundreds of COG groups with hundreds of interpretations on new moons. Armstrongism is never consistent. It  has always been about doing whatever made people fell comfortable with instead of following Christ. Even BibleStudy.org (a COG-related site that tries to pass itself as mainstream) says they are not required:

"Although the new moon is the foundation for determining the start of the Biblical calendar, there is no command that any special worship should take place every time it occurs. 

 

In Leviticus chapter 23 God lists all of the days He commands His people to observe and to worship him upon. They are called "holy convocations" (Leviticus 23:1 - 2) because they are a commanded assembly based on his holy authority. "

"In summary, here are the main reasons why believers today do not have to worship or otherwise observe New Moons that occur each month. First, there are NO commands anywhere in the Bible to observe new moons in a religious manner. Second, there are NO instructions, guidelines or even restrictions on the proper way to observe or worship during these monthly periods. 

 

Third, Leviticus chapter 23 carefully lists ALL the days in the year God expects us to observe. The observation of any monthly special time is not listed! Fourth and last, inferences from references to the new moon during the millennial reign of Jesus Christ on earth (Isaiah 66:23) are not clear indications for what we today should be doing. 

 

Taking note of a new moon, in the Old Testament, was one of the only ways people could keep an accurate track of the passage of time. The observation of these days in a religious sense, however, whereby worship of God was commanded, is not found in the Bible." Should We Worship on the New Moon?

So do modern-day Christians need to observe new moons? NO!

In the Bible, God condemned the practice of observing new moons because they quickly lost their true meaning. Luckily, God loved us so much that He gave us another way to show Him we love Him. We no longer have to sacrifice animals, and instead the earth was blessed with the perfect sacrifice of God’s one and only Son. Jesus appeased and died for all of our sins, and all the righteous requirements of the law were fulfilled by Him (Matthew 5:17). 

His death on the cross means that we have an avenue to eternal life in Heaven with God. Paul reminds us of this fact: “Do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ” (Colossians 2:16–17). 

While watching a new moon can be beautiful, it no longer needs to be considered a holy day or be celebrated in a festival setting. We do not need to go back to using the Hebrew calendar. Only God can make things holy, and He gives us no direction into marking new moons as sacred. Instead, we can accept Jesus into our hearts and ask for forgives through Him. Should Christians Observe New Moons?