Lay it to Heart

When does the New Year Really Start?

God says in Exodus 12:
	1	And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying,
	2	This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you.

This was not January 1 and it was not at Rosh Hashana. The Jewish people start their year at Rosh Hashana in the seventh month that occurs in September or October. Some people say "first" means head therefore it's not really the beginning of the year. This is wrong. The Hebrew word rishon means first, in place, time or rank. The scriptures are what matter and the first month according to God's calendar is in March or April. This also follows the world, weather and science where the plants start to grow in the spring. Jesus said in Matthew 5:17-19.

Matthew 5 says:
	17	Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.
	18	For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.

Heaven and earth have not passed away yet and God's standard for our calendar has not, either.

Genesis 1 says:
	14	And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years:
	15	And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so.
	16	And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also.

The sun and moon were not to tell the future. They were for seasons. Our seasons and our years should be related the sun and the moon. From the days of Moses, the Jews started the new year on the day that had the first visible new moon after the spring equinox. The spring equinox is around March 21 each year. It is the time each year when the sun crosses the equator and day and night are the same length. The new moon from an astronomical standpoint is when the moon is in conjunction with the sun so that its dark side is toward the earth. The time NASA shows the new moon is not when it is visible (NASA's new moon chart). To be a sign for seasons the new moon must be visible. God had special sabbaths mentioned in Leviticus 23. No matter what day of the week some days fell on, they were considered sabbaths. This included the first day day of unleavened bread, the seventh day of unleavened bread, the feat of trumpets (Rosh Hashana), the day of atonement (Yom Kippur), the first day of the feast of tabernacles and seven days later which is the day after the feast is over. Today, the Jewish calendar year may be moved if two sabbaths occur together. God never commanded the calendar to be moved to prevent adjacent or back to back sabbaths. If New Years is celebrated it should be in the spring on the first visible new moon after the spring equinox. The current calendar is just one more way of dumbing down Christianity.