When Does God's New Year Begin?

A crowd gathered in New York City's Times Square at midnight during its annual "ball drop". (Attribution: Anthony Quintano)

Greetings Everyone! You, dearest friends in Bangladesh, Belgium, Malawi, Canada, France, and around the world – welcome to the Church of Jesus Christ Online Ministries, I’m your host Leonard V. Johnson.

Let me begin today by asking these questions – “How did the celebration of New Year’s ever begin!?” “Why is the beginning of a new year placed in the dead of winter!?” “Where did this custom originate!? Did it come from Almighty God!?”

THE majority of our peoples just assume that the celebration of New Year’s is a Christian custom. But did this practice of “watching the ball drop” come from God’s living word – the Holy Bible!? Who has the authority to say when a new year begins!?

Well, let us for this article – get to the heart of the answer!

In ancient Rome, the New Year’s festival was bound to a festival called Saturnalia - an ancient Roman festival and holiday in honor of the god Saturn, held on the 17th of December of the Julian calendar and later expanded with festivities through to the 23rd of December. Now, if you haven’t already, be sure to read the article “ChristMas … It’s Origin.”

Marduk

In the book “4000 Years of Christmas: a gift from the ages” Earl W. Count writes: “Mesopotamia, is the very ancient Mother of Civilization. Christmas began there, over four thousand years ago, as the festival which renewed the world for another year. The ‘twelve days’ of Christmas; the bright fires and probably the Yule log; the giving of presents; the carnivals with their floats, their merrymakings, and clownings, the mummers who sing and play from house to house; the feastings; the church processions with their lights and song – all these and more began there centuries BEFORE Christ was born. And they celebrated the arrival of a new year!” 1

So, in a nutshell – that is how it began! The celebration of New Year’s actually began in ancient Babylon in Mesopotamia. And, it began as a pagan custom of worshiping the sun – 4000 years BEFORE the birth of Jesus Christ!

The celebration of New Year’s is NOT commanded in God’s living word. Our Lord Jesus Christ nor the original apostles NEVER observed it. And, the prophet Moses actually forbade it to be celebrated!

It’s IMPORTANT to properly understand, because Almighty God says, “’ Do not learn the way of the Gentiles; … For the customs of the peoples are futile; …’” – Jeremiah 10:2, 3, NKJV.

“The first day of Saturnalia shifted during the lifetime of Rome; at all events, it began around the middle of December, with the cry, ‘Io Saturnalia’ – Ho Saturnalia!’ – and continuing until January first. In its midst was December twenty-fifth, the day, as the Romans calculated, when the sun was at its lowest ebb, …” 2

It was actually Emperor Julius Caesar of Rome, who instituted the New Year’s festival on January 1st on 46 B.C. with the adoption of the Julian calendar. Yet, how did this pagan festival ever saturate itself into the modern Gregorian calendar!?

Well, here is the answer – from the very same book! The very history of this world’s Mother Church – from about A.D. 375. A period when Emperor Constantine the Great imposed “Christianity” upon the Roman world.

“Io Saturnalia! To the pagan, the Saturnalia were fun. To the Christians, the Saturnalia were an abomination in homage to a disreputable god who had no existence anyway. … There were many immigrants into the ranks of the Christians by this time, but the Church Fathers [meaning, the Roman Catholic Church] discovered to their alarm that they were also facing an invasion of pagan customs. The habit of Saturnalia was too strong to be left behind. At first, the Church [meaning, the Roman Catholic Church] forbade it, but in vain.” 3

Modern-day Mardi Gras is a holdover from Saturnalia

So, rather than resist, they just integrated these pagan customs!

“The Church Fathers [again, meaning the Roman Catholic Church] now sought to point the festival toward the Christian Sun [sic] of Righteousness. … The Church finally succeeded in taking the merriment, the greenery, the lights, and the gifts from Saturn and giving them to the Babe of Bethlehem. … The pagan Romans became Christians – but the Saturnalia remained!” 4

But, modern so-called Christians have gone even further!

Instead of presenting presents to this “Babe of Bethlehem,” on the day that they incorrectly assume He was born, this world is busily exchanging gifts among themselves! Jesus Christ is not only forgotten at Christmas time – unless you count the Peanuts cartoon “A Charlie Brown Christmas.” Charlie Brown asking if anyone knows what Christmas is all about; Linus says he does and recites the supposed meaning – the birthday of Jesus Christ – but is not so much as toasted among the partying of New Year’s Eve!

In October 1582 Pope Gregory XIIIth imposed the Gregorian calendar and reinstituted the pagan Roman date of January 1st. All Roman Catholic countries accepted this new calendar at once! Sweden, Germany, Denmark, and England – all the ancient Druid customs finally acquiesced in the 1700s!

But friends – what does Almighty God have to say about New Year’s!? Does He condone observing a pagan festival!? Or practicing pagan-originating customs in the name of Jesus Christ!?

Turn with me in your Bible to the Book of Deuteronomy the 12th chapter, God says –

Verse 29 – “’ When the LORD your God …’”

Now, does not this world’s so-called Christians consider Him to be their God!? And, if you think that this command was for only the Jews – think again! Be sure to read Minister Michael C. Garrett’s seven-part series “God’s Promises To Abraham.” A vital KEY to help unlock the identity of the American and British peoples!

“ … ‘cuts off from before you the nations which you go to dispossess, and you displace them and dwell in their land, …’”

Verse 30 – “’ take heed to yourself that you are not ensnared to follow them, after they are destroyed from before you, and that you do not inquire after their gods, saying, ‘How did these nations serve their gods? I also will do likewise.’ 31) You shall NOT worship the LORD your God in that way; for every abomination to the LORD which He hates they have done to their gods; for they burn even their sons and daughters in the fire to their gods.’”

Friends, these very customs and rites were indeed practiced in ancient Canaan, Syria, and Babylon, and ancient Rome – including a New Year’s festival!

When Does God Begin the New Year!?

Now, it was Almighty God who created the entire known universe! He set His heavenly bodies in motion creating a “master clock” in which true time is determined. Note: Just recently read a great article in which scientists from MIT have developed what they believe is the most accurate atomic clock ever constructed. Be sure to check it out! Recall, God says, “’ Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and seasons, and for days and years.’” – Genesis 1:14 NKJV. So the earth’s rotation regulates the length of a day and the lunar phases dictate the length of a month. And the orbit of the earth around the sun – sorry Aristarchus of Samos – dictates the length of a year. However, only the very Creator of the universe has the authority to set the dates of the beginning of a new year! Not the likes of Pope Gregory XIIIth – who reduced the average year from 365.25 days to 365.2425!

God’s sacred calendar actually begins in the spring – not in the dead of winter!

Let us turn now to the Book of Exodus chapter 12 –

Verse 1 – “Now the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, 2) ‘This month [the month of Abib/Nisan (March-April)] shall be your beginning of months; it shall be the FIRST MONTH OF THE YEAR to you.’”

So, the very first month of God’s sacred calendar is called in His living word, Abib/Nisan. The definition of Abib from the Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible is “head (of grain), already ripe, but still soft – green ears of corn.” Later, the Jews would call this month Nisan – the first month of the Canaanite calendar.

Friends, your very Bible speaks of a great false Church – a religious system – which would “intend to change times and law” – Daniel 7:25 NKJV. And, as we saw earlier – indeed they have! This world’s religious system – from which as I stated in the article “ChristMas … Its Origin,” originally came from Nimrod who is mentioned in Genesis 10:8-11. No man has the authority to change God’s “master clock.”

Satan the devil – the “god of this age” (2 Corinthians 4:4 NKJV) – has very cleverly deceived this world into believing a new year begins on January 1st! The very name January is named after the Roman god Janus – a god of beginnings and transitions and, even to this day, is being venerated in modern movies like The Tourist, a rather innocuous movie starring Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp!

The very same pagan practices which God condemns in His living word are being perpetuated in our modern world – today! The very same festivals of paganism that were adopted by the house of Israel are today an integral part of our societies!

In the Book of 2nd Kings chapter 17, we read of the very reason why God allowed first the kingdom of Israel and second the kingdom of Judah to go into captivity –

Verse 13 – “Yet the LORD testified against Israel and against Judah, by all of His prophets, every seer, saying, ‘Turn from your evil ways, and KEEP MY COMMANDMENTS and My statutes, according to all the law which I commanded your fathers, and which I sent to you by My servants the prophets.’”

Verse 15 – “And they rejected His statutes and His covenant that He had made with their fathers, and His testimonies which He had testified against them; they followed idols, became idolaters, and went after the nations who were all around them, concerning whom the LORD had charged them that they should not do like them. 16) So they left all the commandments of the LORD their God, made for themselves a molded image and two calves, made a wooden image and worshiped all the host of heaven [meaning, the angels], and served Baal. 17) And they caused their sons and daughters to pass through the fire, practicing witchcraft and sooth-saying, and sold themselves to do evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke Him to anger.”

Verse 18 – “Therefore the LORD was very angry with Israel, and removed them from His sight; there was none left but the tribe of Judah alone.”

So, what was the result of the kingdom of Israel following the customs of the pagan nations around them!?

Verse 20 – “And the LORD rejected all the descendants of Israel, afflicted them, and delivered them into the hand of plunderers, until He had cast them from His sight. … 23) until the LORD removed Israel out of His sight, as He had said by all His servants the prophets. So Israel was carried away from their own land to Assyria, …”

And friends, the kingdom of Israel has NEVER returned as a nation to the land of Palestine!

The kingdom of Israel – according to our Lord Jesus Christ was ‘lost’ (see Matthew 15:24)! They were, in essence, eventually assimilated upon their release and migration into Northwestern Europe. And, the chief peoples among them have become the United States of America and the United Kingdom and Commonwealth nations (today and formerly). Again, if you haven’t already read our seven-part article “God’s Promises To Abraham” do so immediately.

Well, does the LORD our God change!?

No. He warns, “’ For I AM the LORD, I do not change.’” – Malachi 3:6 NKJV; see also Hebrews 13:8.

So, speaking to the modern nations of the house of Israel today, Almighty God says, “’ As for you, O house of Israel,’ thus says the Lord GOD: ‘Go, serve every one of you his idols – and hereafter – if you will not obey Me; but profane My holy name no more with your gifts and your idols.” – Ezekiel 20:39 NKJV.

In essence, God is saying, ‘If you want to engage in Christmas, New Year’s festivals, St. Valentines Day, Ash Wednesday, Mardi Gras, Halloween, St. Patrick’s Day – and all the other pagan holidays and festivals, go right ahead; but don’t you dare say that I endorse it!’

Almighty God continues to WARN the modern-day nations of Israel against their holidays of paganism! Look at Hosea chapter 2 –

Verse 11 – “’ I will cause all her mirth to cease, Her feast days [the feasts which the people chose], Her New Moons [marking the beginning of a pagan New year], Her Sabbaths – All her appointed feasts.’”

Now, God isn’t speaking of His original instituted feast days – He’s speaking of those feasts that the people had acquired from the nations around them.

Verse 13 – “’ I will punish her For the days of the Baals [Bā’ălim; Baal (/ˈbeɪ.əl/), properly Baʿal, was a title and honorific meaning "lord" in the Northwest Semitic languages spoken in the Levant during antiquity. From its use among people, it came to be applied to gods] to which she burned incense. …’”

The very same punishment awaits any nation today which forsakes Almighty God’s law as revealed in His living word – the Holy Bible – and turns to the customs of other nations!

“Come Out From Among Them!”

New Year’s celebration truly began and originated from ancient Babylon under the ruler Nimrod – the very one who began to be “a mighty hunter [against] the LORD” cf. Genesis 10:8-9. Indeed, this grandson of Ham, who was a son of the patriarch Noah, was the true founder of the Babylonish system which has dominated the world ever since! Nimrod built the Tower of Babel in ancient Babylon. The very first post-diluvian kingdom was made by Nimrod, in Sumeria, Mesopotamia, where the main body of the human-race had set up camp. He overthrew the post-diluvian Semitic-line and established a Hamitic “monarchy,” as the world’s first king. 5 And, sadly, it is practiced by nearly everyone today on the face of the earth! Satan the devil has indeed deceived the whole world! – cf. Revelation 12:9.

It was indeed adopted by a very powerful and world-girdling church mentioned in bold letters in Revelation 17:5 –

“MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH”!

In Revelation 18:3 we are told, “For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, the kings of the earth have committed fornication [spiritual fornication] with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich through the abundance of her luxury.” Including, of course, the United States of America, the United Kingdom and her Commonwealth nations, Canada, Australia, New Zealand - and even including Judah (the nation known today as Israel)!

And we are WARNED by Almighty God –

Verse 4 – “And I heard another voice from heaven [the atmosphere] saying, ‘Come out of her [out of this modern-day Babylon and out of these worldly churches], my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues.”

But friends, Almighty God has sent His ministers to warn this world – to cry aloud and spare not, and to show His PEOPLE THEIR SINS! – cf. Isaiah 58:1.

Punishment will not be forever withheld! Be sure to read “’ Blow the Trumpet’!” – for I grieve in my spirit within my body, and this dream by night troubles me.

May God help you to HEED THIS WARNING, and forsake the pagan practices of this world! □

Bibliography:

1) Count, W.E. and Count L.A., 4000 Years of Christmas: A Gift From the Ages, Ulysses Press, Berkeley, California, © 1997, pp. 24-25. https://archive.org/details/4000yearsofchris00coun/page/n7/mode/2up. Retrieved 26 December 2020.

2) Ibid, 33.

3) Ibid., 36.

4) Ibid., 36, 37, 38.

5) Hughes, D. Ancient Sumeria Nimrod’s Story, 2005. https://realityroars.com/history/middle-east/ancient-sumeria-nimrods-story.html. Retrieved 14 December 2020.

Additional Items of Related Interest:

ChristMas ... Its Origin - Once again we are faced with this eight-decade-old question – “Where did Christmas come from!?”

Feast of Trumpets - 2020 - ‘A memorial of blowing trumpets.’

'Tell My People Their Sins' - the LORD God is instructing the prophet Isaiah to lift up his voice like a trumpet.

Be Not Defeated - have you ever felt defeated by sin!? Does sin get the better of you – sometimes!?