Happy Preparation Day to All!
Hi Folks,
We are hoping you have all calmed down from what took place Thursday evening with the reporting of the crescent being seen in Jerusalem and furthered along by those claiming to be in the Body of Christ. IT COULD NOT HAVE HAPPENED! Conditions did not permit it with the rise in humidity that increased the haze band over the Mediterranean.
The same two proselytes of the people of spiritual stupor who provided the false report from Jerusalem in July are at it again and being promoted by others who have an agenda. We will get to that.
Many of you are asking why the people who normally look for the first crescent and have done so for years are saying they did not see it? Dear brethren, the answer is simple, it was not visible to the naked eye. Please understand in Jerusalem it was not an issue of clouds just a very high and thick haze line blotting it out.
So, here we have 2 months in a row that many professing Christians have followed a false witness report. It’s sad that many of them run tripping over all the facts in creation and in scripture, to do so. The sources of spiritual stupor can’t even get it together. One says 3 witnesses and another says 2 witnesses. Which is it guys? The picture that was posted was taken in an area far south of Jerusalem which we know very well as do some of you. Why were they there for the sighting? Because they understood it was not likely going to be seen in Jerusalem or the regions around it and they have a command to make it happen on that night in their beliefs. Imagine that.
We are told the INMS report will not come out until next week. They sent out a short blurp, which I understand the logistics of. Time was running out due to their beliefs with sunset approaching and to them it really does not matter anyway if it gets out in a timely manner or not. They follow halachic times. Some of you over the years have complained about their reports not coming out in a timely manner. That is not happenstance, but by design.
Now watch, my character will most assuredly be attacked for saying such a thing. Truth can sting and we will get to that shortly. But first let me state very clearly, we stopped using the INMS back in 2011 as a reliable source for new moon reports. It was a lesson learned the hard way but we are happy we did learn it. That is when Roy was put into a box. And yes, he was the founder regardless of what is rewritten today. He made the big mistake of providing evidence to a Beit Din Court in regard to a new moon sighting that did not uphold halachic times. Some of you old timers remember when that happened and shortly thereafter someone else was the upfront person for the INMS. I could get into some of the events surrounding all of that but it is not important. What is important is for us to accept and internalize the instructions Paul has given us in Romans the 11thchapter verses 7-10.
“What then? Israel has not obtained what it seeks; but the elect have obtained it, and the rest were blinded. Just as it is written: God has given them a spirit of spiritual stupor, eyes that they should not see and ears that they should not hear, to this very day. And David says: Let their table become a snare and a trap, a stumbling block and a recompense to them. Let their eyes be darkened, so that they do not see, and bow down their back always.”
Paul clearly understood this about his countrymen. He loved them dearly but he also understood the facts of where they fit in, or better said, do not fit in when it comes to our Biblical understanding. We are not to hate the people of spiritual stupor, but we are also not to eat from their table because of that. We only dine with Christ as the scriptures so clearly instruct us. The people of Judaism have nothing to do with the gospel other than they are enemies of it as Paul tells us.
So how does this all play out with new moon observation. Very simple and very clear. They are true to their beliefs and will do everything they can to not promote a new moon sighting not in line with their halachic times. It’s that simple. I get it, but that does not mean I eat it.
On Tuesday July 18 at sunset their month of Tammuz ended based on halachic calendar times and Av started. Thus, it was very simple and acceptable for them to find witnesses to support it. Once again as Christ instructed us their proselytes become twice the sons of Gehenna as they are. Some of you would do well to read Matthew the 23rd chapter to get caught up on this fact. The same goes for the big magnification of an otherwise unseeable crescent. But it fits their narrative so its okay, for it supports their faith. Please learn how to discern the spirits folks.
So now we have the same two witnesses once again proclaiming an unseeable crescent with the naked eye which fits nicely with the end of Av on August 17 at sunset and the start of Elul. Once again halachic times promoted. And let’s not forget the picture of the thread size crescent under great magnification.
I hope you see a pattern here. If not, I am going to do something I seldom ever do. I am going to let you read some of my email correspondence from 2011 after Daniel took receivership of the INMS from Roy by order of the Rabbinate. The first correspondence is when I did not know Roy had been removed. Daniel is a man who is true to his faith but, it is not mine, but I would no doubt enjoy sitting and talking with him. He represents the foundation of his calendar beliefs very well, but once again they are not what is in scripture for, they are in Judaism. After you read the correspondence I will have more to say.
On Wed, Apr 6, 2011 at 6:49
Hi Roy and Company, We hope things are well with you all there at the Society. There are many of us awaiting your report from Monday night here in the US, Britain, and Australia as to whether the crescent was sighted or not. We have come to rely on your reports for the simple fact that you function with a very high degree of integrity with no agenda driving them other than simple accurate information transfer. Would you be able to let us know for many have travel plans for the keeping of Passover/UB which would be affected by its outcome.
As well I have never asked if you would want me to report in on sightings in New York each month. It is our habit to look for it and we have established some interesting insights with those relevant to Israel.
Thank you for your efforts and service.
Brian Convery
In a message dated 4/7/2011 6:14:06 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, moonsocil@gmail.comwrites:
Brian. Thanks for your question. This month, and especially for this month, there was a decision to delay the reporting of the sightings so that there would be no mistake that the function of the New Moon Society is purely for the observation and reporting of New Moon sightings and is in no way associated with any attempts to declare an actual New Moon based on these data.
Recently, there has been a concern that activity generated by such sightings have been used by some individuals to declare a Rosh Chodesh which is outside of the Halachic Calendar. This has generated concern as well as confusion in some circles. We wish to reiterate that the purpose of the New Moon Society is in no way associated with any organization or movement to change the current calendar nor to institute a new system based on observation.
As you are well aware, this month's observation is such a month that a deficiency of Halachic witness reporting a New Moon siting for the evening of the Calendar's Nisan 1. Supposing a group were to declare that the New Moon was not sighted by qualified witness (perhaps based on the reporting from the New Moon Society itself), that would have created doubt and/or howls in certain quarters.
Hence, it was decided to wait until after the last possible predicted siting in Adelaide (6 April) to post the results.
Sincerely,
Daniel Jackson
On Fri, Apr 8, 2011 at 2:21 AM
Hi Daniel, Thank you for your honesty in this matter. I certainly understand your concern and it is undoubtedly well founded. On the other hand, there are many who use the reports for what they are, observations, for they do not have a reliable source for such. I know in my case it has no bearing on what another's beliefs are. That is between them and their Creator.
It appears that we will have to make other arrangements for sighting information in Israel for the first and the seventh months if I read your email correctly. We do have the means to do so but have never set it up because the New Moon Society has filled that role.
We certainly hope you have a very peaceful and safe upcoming Passover/UB season.
Once again thank you for the service you perform and give our best to all the folks who are involved.
Brian
In a message dated 4/7/2011 7:50:25 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, moonsocil@gmail.comwrites:
Brian, Thanks for your reply. Here's the situation. The moon has a synodic period of about 29.5 days (and change). That means that under strict observation alone, there should be one month of 30 days and one month of 29 days. This is the case with the Karite calendar and the Muslim calendar--strict alternation of the number of days per month. However, there are two other issues here. First--the change. Over time, that extra time adds up and we get a run of months of the same day, not alternating neatly. Second, the Hebrew fixed calendar proceeds on what is called an "average moon" as well as working out the number of days per year so certain festivals fall out on certain days and not others.
Now, to return to an observational calendar, would change a lot of the fixed month structure (alternating days) as well as the exceptions to the rule. Moreover, on certain days, when a New Moon is expected the evening after the 29th day of the previous month, it is very likely that the entire region of Israel is clouded over--no New Moon was observed. Under the current Halachic calendar, this is not a problem because we work with the Average Moon. An Observational Calendar, one that requires visual sightings with the naked eye, changes that. Because there was no New Moon observed, the day following the 29th day of the previous month becomes the 30th day of that month, and the day after becomes the first of the next month.
Now, in the days when the Observational Calendar, everyone did look to Jerusalem for the declaration of the New Moon. Certainly for this month, it would be a concern to know exactly WHEN the 14th of Nisan would occur--as in WHICH day? But this would be true for any month when the actual conjunction of the Moon with the Sun occurs such that the Moon would either appear too early for the fixed calendar (as the case when the fixed calendar predicts a 30 day month) or too late (as the case when the fixed calendar predicts a 29 day month).
In point of fact, because the Fixed Calendar is based on an Average Moon, the Moon does appear early or late throughout the 19 year Metonic Cycle.
So here's the issue. There are some who feel that the calendar should return to the old observational method and there are some who feel that should never be the case. The New Moon Society does not want to become involved in that discussion. Recently, this debate, as it were, has heated up and the Society's reporting’s have been used in the argument. Because of "appearances", the delay is in order.
This is an excellent discussion. Saturday, April 9, 2011 7:08 AM To: moonsocil@gmail.com Subject: Re: April New Moon
Hi Daniel, We hope you are keeping safe. You folks at the Society do in fact have to walk a fine line I myself have known that for some time and I realize it is not just restricted to those who practice the same faith that you do. That is one of the reasons many years ago when I met Roy that I knew he was a man I could rely on to speak the truth about what he saw and what he reported. His goals as he had stated them were much the same as mine and many others that I know. That has not been the case with others I have worked with in Israel and for that matter around the world. I have tried to follow the science of observation, as well as the science of barley.
I certainly understand your explanation below and thank you for taking the time to do so. When I first came to the realization that a calendar was necessary to determine the appointed times of meeting, I spent many years studying the current calendar being used. I understand it from its inception up through its current rules and uses. It is an impressive system in many respects which was born out of necessity. Many of the fundamentals I use in my determinations are found in that system as well.
I decided many years ago to return to the methods used during Temple times. That is not a slight in any way as to what another would do. It has allowed me to meet some very dedicated people in many places. I have been challenged at times and when that happens, I simply give a defense for the hope that is in me without trying to convert someone to my way of doing things. Once again that is what has impressed me about how the Society has functioned over the years. That is rare behavior in these polarized times we live in.
I would hope that we could meet sometime in the future. I am in Israel every March for inspections and have been for the past ten years. I have a very dear friend who lives in Omer. He has been in Israel since 1982-3. He moved there with his family for he had come to the understanding that he needed to be able to observe the moon and the barley to make his determinations as to the appointed times. He actually uses the last crescent to determine when he will do so. That in no way separates he and I from the relationship we share.
The only reason I mention this is because we do not try to change one another, but work with each other. For instance, he looked for the New Moon for us on Monday night from Omer. He does not use it but is not intimidated or offended in any way in doing so to help us in our convictions. By the way he too did not see it even though he had no cloud cover above. The horizon was completely clouded in and thus he would not have been able to see it based on elevation and lag time that evening.
I have rambled on so let me conclude with the fact that many appreciate the work you folks do at the Society and your willingness to assist others in your efforts.
May your Passover season be one of joy and fellowship.
Brian
So, there you have the facts folks. What are you going to do with them. We have a very different set of rules to be governed by. Our yes should be yes and our no should be no. There is no middle ground. Christ, Paul, and John repeatedly warn us about having any religious connection to the folks who profess the tenets of Judaism. Absolutely nothing. They are antichrist in their spiritual stupor as John clearly spells it out.
However, that does not mean we are to not be willing to enjoy their company outside of our walk with our Elohim. Paul made that very clear. John not so much.
These are times of great deception we find ourselves in. Unfortunately, there are too many people who claim to be of the Body of Christ and do exactly what He said not to do. It takes a lot of time and energy to search all these things out. We can’t be lazy little children looking for someone to give us the quick and easy solution to things. That is not part of the resume of the Bride of Christ, the Second Eve.
Our peace we give to you.