Can you provide me with instructions for spotting the New Moon?Yahweh has instructed us through the Scriptures that with each New Moon we are seeing the beginning of the month. The word for New Moon and month are used interchangeably throughout the King James Version of the Scriptures. Many brethren new to looking for the New Moon have asked for a little help. There are a few points that can make seeing the New Moon easier. Even with these tips and hints Yahweh is the only guarantor of whether or not the New Moon will be visible. Here are a few hints that will hopefully help you locate the New Moon in the darkening sky. 1. Prepare ahead of time by having a spot to look for the New Moon picked out. Think of comfort too, cold and hot weather may make it unbearable to be out in the open. Use common sense! 2. The best place is going to be a hill or elevated position with a clear westerly view. Light pollution makes it hard to see the New Moon because the moon is not going to be too bright. The New Moon is usually seen before the sky is completely dark.  3. Pick a position that doesn't have a river or stream westerly from where you will be looking. Here in Holts Summit we have the Missouri River about 10 miles to the west of us. As water evaporates from the river it causes a haze in the sky. The best location here locally is south of the river since the wind blows east. Jefferson City is clearer but there is more light pollution.
4. The New Moon will always be to the left or south of where the sun sets. Some brethren have made sophisticated equipment to help guess where the New Moon will be but the best hint has always been to watch where the sunsets. The New Moon's crescent always bulges towards the sun. 5. Know what you are looking for and approximately how high and far apart from the sun the New Moon will be. The New Moon is seen almost every twenty-nine or thirty days. The greater the distance between the sun and the moon the better. This means that the crescent will be thinker. 6. Join with brethren, because the more eyes that are looking for the New Moon the better. It is a challenge sometimes to even see the New Moon so others maybe able to help. Plus the fellowship is great. 7. Keep up with the New Moon reports. The experience of seeing the New Moon will help when it is needed for the first and seventh months. The New Moon is important because it determines the beginning of the Biblical months. Through Yahweh the New Moon determines when we keep the feasts. Abib is the first New Moon of the Biblical year and is sited when the Barley is either mushy or riper. The barley was taken and baked until it was hard enough to grind into flour. The flour was then waved before Yahweh as an offering for the upcoming harvest. The new grain could not be eaten until the wave sheaf offering was waved. Like Abib the seventh New Moon is the start of the seventh month feasts and the Day of Atonement. Depending on how bad the coming tribulation is we may not be able to communicate with one another. You may have to figure out Yahweh's calendar without the help of the brethren. We will have to depend on the knowledge that Yahweh has given us to determine the calendar. Yahweh's calendar is based on the sun, moon and the seasons. Abib is the month of green ears. The New Moon is the beginning of the Biblical month. The sun determines the days. Without a modern calendar we could keep Yahweh's feasts. "Blow the trumpet at the new moon, at the set time, on our feast day." (Psalms 81:3) May Yahweh and Yahshua be with you! Halleluyah! | 
