code: public static Date parseDateFromString(final String value, final String pattern, final TimeZone timeZone)
              throws ParseException {
          final DateFormat rfc1123Format = new SimpleDateFormat(pattern, Utility.LOCALE_US);
          rfc1123Format.setTimeZone(timeZone);
          return rfc1123Format.parse(value);
     }
docs: Returns a GMT date in the specified format
  
  @param value
  the string to parse
  @return the GMT date, as a <code>Date</code>
  @throws ParseException
  If the specified string is invalid