Question: Other websites teach the lunar Sabbath should be calculated from when the New Moon is observed in Jerusalem. This would unite the world in worshipping on one day. Why doesn’t WLC calculate the months this way?
Answer: Yahuwah created all His set apart appointments to be celebrated when they arrive at any location. Everyone in SPIRITUAL ISRAEL is now in Zion / Spiritual Jerusalem from which Yahuwah's truth now flows. It is the establishment of the false Gregorian calendar and International Date Line which make it appear that the dates1 are different. If Jerusalem time is used, those just east of the border would still fall in a different time zone for their observation of the day. Those living immediately east of the Jerusalem border will be one day behind those living in Jerusalem (if indeed the day were supposed to begin in Jerusalem). Those living immediately east of the Jerusalem border will be observing Sabbath while those living in Jerusalem will be observing the first day of the week. However, even those who endorse New Moon reckoning by Jerusalem time are not truly making Jerusalem the date line.
Think about this ...
When you use Jerusalem time to determine the Sabbaths and Feast days, you are simultaneously using the man-made International Date Line - because you are still using this line to determine when the day begins in order to unite the world in worshipping on the same Gregorian date. This method of reckoning is very illusive, as it does not truly draw a date line across the earth at 31°47'N (Jerusalem's latitude), but rather is dependent on the imaginary man-made date line and the Roman Gregorian calendar.
The belief that the Sabbath must be determined by Jerusalem time is based on a verse which states, in part: “. . . out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of . . . [Yahuwah] from Jerusalem.” (Isaiah 2:3, KJV) Taken as a phrase out of context, this would seem to support such a claim.
However, there are problems with this interpretation. First, the verse is actually a prophecy referring to the earth made new, as seen when it is read in context:
“And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of . . . [Yahuwah’s] house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of . . . [Yahuwah], to the house of the . . . [Elohim] of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of . . . [Yahuwah] from Jerusalem. And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.” (Isaiah 2:2-4)
Yahuwah established Jerusalem in a very strategic location. To the west was the Mediterranean Sea; to the east, an inhospitable desert. Palestine was the corridor through which people traveled from north to south and back again. By positioning His people in this well-frequented passageway, Yahuwah intended for them to be a shining light to all the world, those passing through taking the truth back to their native lands. In this way, the law was to “go forth” from Jerusalem.
However, there is nothing in Scripture that teaches Jerusalem must be the starting point of time-keeping for the entire world. Only the lights in the heavens have been given that function. “He appointed the moon for seasons [mo’ed]; the sun knoweth his going down.” (Psalm 104:19) The Creator’s clock/calendar has been constructed as an integral part of the solar system! It operated before there was ever a Jerusalem and it continues to tell time for all on earth.
A few days before His crucifixion, Yahushua mourned over Jerusalem, saying:
“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!” (Matthew 23:37, KJV)
Yahuwah never forces human will. When Jerusalem rejected her Messiah,
she did not remain the chosen city against her will. Yahuwah respected
Jerusalem’s decision. She was set aside and none are to now look to
Jerusalem for light, including the time for
beginning the month.
Related Content:
1 When reckoning the dawn after conjunction as the beginning of New Moon Day, the entire world will be united in observing the same day. While it might appear that two different days are being observed when communicating the dates via the Gregorian calendar, in reality everyone on earth will be observing the New Moons, Sabbaths, and Feast Days during the same solar revolution, each beginning their day within the same 24-hour period. In other words, all countries of the world will experience the arrival of His Sabbath and Feast Days within one 24-hour solar revolution. Not only does this method unite the world in observing the Feasts on one 24-hour Solar Revolution, but none will begin New Moon Day more than 24 hours after the actual Conjunction takes place. Remarkably, there are only 24 hours from the time of Conjunction until New Moon Day dawns in the last geographic region to receive the day. This is an amazing testimony to the uniqueness and consistency of Yahuwah's world date line.