Really?
Genesis 1:14 says that the two great lights would be for signs, seasons, days and years. Thus the calendar of
the Creator is written in the heavens. These lights are the sun and moon.
Exodus 31:13, Ezekiel 20:12, and 20:20 all say that the Sabbath is a sign, using the SAME Hebrew word found in
Genesis 1:14 (owth), meaning signal or beacon. So, which of the two light in the heavens are on a seven day
cycle, the sun or moon?
Psalm 104:19 says that the moon will regulate the seasons (Mo’edim--appointed times, set feasts). Leviticus 23:
1-3 shows the weekly Sabbath to be the first feast (Mo’edim--appointed times, set feasts).
And YHVH spake unto Moses, saying,
Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, Concerning the feasts of YHVH, which ye shall proclaim to be
holy convocations, even these are My feasts.
Six days shall work be done: but the seventh day is the sabbath of rest, an holy convocation; ye shall do no work
therein: it is the sabbath of YHVH in all your dwellings. Leviticus 23:1-3
Leviticus 23 talks about all the appointed times except the new moon. Notice verse four when talking about the
other (annual) feasts/Sabbaths...
These are the feasts of YHVH, even holy convocations, which ye shall proclaim in their seasons. Leviticus 23:4
Uses the SAME Hebrew word as the Most High used when describing the weekly Sabbath, Strong's H4150, Mo'edim.
This alone is enough to prove that the Sabbath is by the moon, but it does not answer every possible question as to
HOW or WHY that might take place. Yours is not to ask WHY. Either do (obey) or do not. The HOW will only be
answered by going outside and looking AT the clock and watching for patterns. Interestingly enough, the quarter
phases are on an approximate 7 day cycle, announcing the weekly Sabbath with astronomical precision.
I am not the only one who believes so either:
“The New Moon is still, and the Sabbath originally was, dependent upon the lunar cycle.” Universal Jewish
Encyclopedia, p. 410. No quote can be clearer than this.
“… each lunar month was divided into four parts, corresponding to the four phases of the moon. The first week of
each month began with the new moon, so that, as the lunar month was one or two days more than four periods of
seven days, these additional days were not reckoned at all.” Universal Jewish Encyclopedia, Vol. 10, p. 482.
Article "Week."
“…the Hebrew Sabbathon … was celebrated at intervals of seven days, corresponding with changes in the moon’s
phases...” Encyclopedia Biblica, 1899. p. 4180
“In the time of the earliest prophets, the New Moon stood in the same line with another lunar observance, the
Sabbath. Ezekiel, who curiously enough frequently dates his prophecies on the New Moon … describes the gate of
the inner court of the (new) temple looking eastward as kept shut for the six working days, but opened on the
Sabbath and the New Moon.” Scribner's Dictionary of the Bible (1898 edit.), p. 521
“The Hebrew month is a lunar month and the quarter of this period—one phase of the moon—appears to have
determined the week of seven days.” Encyclopedia Biblica, p. 4780. And why have we never been taught any of
this???
“…The [early] Hebrews employed lunar seven-day weeks…which ended with special observances on the seventh
day but none the less were tied to the moon’s course.” Hutton Webster, in his book, Rest Days, page 254.
“… the custom of celebrating the Sabbath every 7th day, irrespective of the relationship of the day to the moon’s
phases, led to a complete separation from the ancient view of the Sabbath...” Encyclopedia Biblica, (1899 edit.),
p. 4179.
“With the development of the importance of the Sabbath as a day of consecration and the emphasis laid upon the
significant number seven, the week became more and more divorced from its lunar connection...” Universal Jewish
Encyclopedia: Vol. 10, 1943 edit. Article, "Week," p. 482.
“The four quarters of the moon supply an obvious division of the month...it is most significant that in the older parts
of the Hebrew scriptures the new moon and the Sabbath are almost invariably mentioned together. The [lunar]
month is beyond question an old sacred division of time common to all the semites; even the Arabs, who received
the week at quite a late period from the Syrians, greeted the New Moon with religious acclamations. … We cannot
tell [exactly] when the Sabbath became disassociated from the month.” Encyclopedia Biblica, 1899 edit., pp. 4178-
4179.
If you are concerned that these are all old quotes (19th century, early 20th century), how about some older quotes?
Philo lived from approximately 20 BCE until about 50 CE. Thus, his lifetime spanned not only the years prior to
the carpenter from Nazareth’s birth, but also the years following his death.
The evidence reveals that Philo’s beliefs were representative of that of the Israelite nation during that period of
time. Philo, who was born and raised in Alexandria, Egypt, was one of more than 100,000 Hebrews living in that
city. When the Roman prefect Flaccus initiated a massacre of Israelites in the year 39 CE, Philo was selected to
head the Hebrew delegation that went to Rome to plead their case before the emperor, Gaius Caligula.
Please pause for a moment and reflect on the significance of Philo being chosen from among his peers for such a
monumental task. Would Philo have been chosen for such a mission if his practice and beliefs had not squared with
those of normative Judaism? No, he would not have been chosen unless his views matched those of his peers. We
know from Philo’s writings that he observed lunar Sabbaths. If normative Judaism had practiced “Saturday
Sabbaths” while Philo rebelliously observed “lunar weeks and Sabbaths,” would this detail have affected their
decision to select him to lead a delegation to Rome?
Absolutely. Sabbath observance is one of the most distinguishing marks of the Hebrew faith. As author Dayan
Grunfeld put it, the Sabbath “epitomizes the whole of Judaism.” For Philo to have gone against the grain with regard
to Sabbath observance would have signaled a break with the faith, practice and law of Israel.
We can thus discern that if Philo observed lunar weeks and Sabbath by the phases of the moon each week, so did
the rest of his fellow Israelites, including the New Testament Jesus because there is no known controversy between
man from Galilee and the religious leaders concerning the weekly Sabbath. He kept the same weekly Sabbath day
as they did.
While Philo did a decent job of explaining how the weeks are connected to the moon, we feel that a major blow to
satyrday sabbatarian theology involves that which Philo left out of his writings.
Not once did Philo mention another week other than the lunar cycle in determining the Sabbath day. In fact, the
word “saturday” or “saturn’s day” is never mentioned in Philo’s entire book, not even once. This is significant, as
elsewhere in Philo’s writings, he devotes much space to discussing the cycle of the moon and the number seven. In
fact, the day of the new moon is listed separate from the weeks as one of the major feasts, and he never counted
the new moon when counting the 28 days of the 4 weeks or 4 Sabbaths each month (originally moonth as month is
derived from moon).
The primary reasons Philo never mentions satyrday are because 1.) Israel did not observe the pagan planetary
week 2000 years ago, and 2.), if they had observed the planetary week during Philo’s lifetime, satyrday would have
been the first day of the week, not the seventh.
In order to have a lunar Sabbath, you must have a lunar “week”. Did Philo link the Sabbath or the “week” with the
phases of the moon? The answer is yes, in fact the lunar week and lunar Sabbath are the only week or Sabbath
mentioned in Philo’s writings. Notice that the number seven, the weeks, the Sabbath and the moon are all linked
together in Philo’s writings.
In Allegorical Interpretation, 1 IV (8), it says…
“Again, the periodical changes of the moon, take place according to the number seven, that star having the greatest
sympathy with the things on earth. And the changes which the moon works in the air, it perfects chiefly in
accordance with its own configurations on each seventh day. At all events, all mortal things, as I have said before,
drawing their more divine nature from the heaven, are moved in a manner which tends to their preservation in
accordance with this number seven. … Accordingly, on the seventh day, Elohim caused to rest from all his works
which he had made.” …
Notice that Philo says the moon is perfect in its shape or appearance at seven day intervals. Had a Hebrew
speaking Israelite written this he would have said “it perfects chiefly in accordance with its own configurations on
each Sabbath day instead of each “seventh” day because elsewhere in his writings, Philo identifies that when he
mentions the seventh day [of the week] he is speaking of the Sabbath. Above, he tells us that the moon perfects its
own configurations on each seventh day. It was understood, that at the end each period of six work days there
would be a weekly Sabbath. The Greek speaking Jews referred to the Sabbath as the seventh day or the sacred
seventh day, while in the language of the Hebrews it was termed Shabbat, or the Sabbath. Continuing on with Philo:
The Decalogue XXX (159),
“But to the seventh day of the week he has assigned the greatest festivals, those of the longest duration, at the
periods of the equinox both vernal and autumnal in each year; appointing two festivals for these two epochs, each
lasting seven days; the one which takes place in the spring being for the perfection of what is being sown, and the
one which falls in autumn being a feast of thanksgiving for the bringing home of all the fruits which the trees have
produced”…
Let’s look carefully at what Philo is saying. To the seventh day of the week He [the Father above] has assigned the
greatest festivals, in other words the greatest (longest) festivals have been assigned to the seventh day of the
week. Philo, keeping the same luni-solar calendar established in Scripture, calls the first day of each of these seven
day feasts the “seventh day of the week”. Scripture says that both of the seven day feasts (Unleavened Bread and
Tabernacles) begin on the 15th day of their respective months. See Leviticus 23:5-6 and 23:34. Friend, the
seventh day of the week is the Sabbath, is it not? It is the seventh day of the week EVERY year. If the 15th is the
weekly Sabbath, so are the 8th, 22nd and 29th days of the month.
Notice Philo did not say they would receive two holydays of festivals, but one, the 15th. Satyrday Sabbath keepers
insist that there will be a satyrday Sabbath that interrupts these seven day feasts, and indeed, if the Gregorian
calendar were the calendar of Scripture that would be true. But Scripture says nothing of a [satyrday] Sabbath in
the middle of these 7 day feasts. To prove the seventh day of the week is the same as the 15th, elsewhere Philo
states, “And this feast is begun on the fifteenth day of the month, in the middle of the month, on the day on which
the moon is full of light, in consequence on the providence of Elohim taking care that there shall be no darkness on
that day.” Philo’s Special Laws II, The Fifth Festival, Section XXVIII (155)
In other words, Philo is saying the weekly Sabbath begins these feasts, and is on the 15th. This proves the
Sabbaths by the lunar calendar is true and the Gregorian false because there is no way the weekly Sabbath can
begin these two festivals on the 15th in the 1st and 7th month each year, on a continuous seven day cycle
presented by the Gregorian calendar we have today.
Speaking of “lunar” intervals, in Special Laws I. (178), Philo writes…
“…there is one principle of reason by which the moon waxes and wanes in equal intervals, both as it increases and
diminishes in illumination; the seven lambs because it receives the perfect shapes in periods of seven days—the
half-moon in the first seven day period after its conjunction with the sun, full moon in the second; and when it makes
its return again, the first is to half-moon, then it ceases at its conjunction with the sun.” [All emphasis supplied by
author/complier of this study.]
The half-moon (first quarter moon) announces the first Sabbath of the month. It is the seventh day of the week,
naturally, but this is the 8th day of the month. New moon day is not counted against the week. The full moon rising
at the end of the 14th day of the month announces the 15th as the second Sabbath of the month. If the new moon
was counted, the quarter phases (or as Philo describes them, the moon as it perfects in its own configurations on
each seventh day) would not come at the end of the week, disconnecting the perfection of the lunar cycle from the
Sabbath. What hyh has joined together, let not man put asunder.
Philo gives a second witness in On Mating with the Preliminary Studies, XIX (102)…
“For it is said in the Scripture: On the tenth day of this month let each of them take a sheep according to his house;
in order that from the tenth, there may be consecrated to the tenth, that is to Elohim, the sacrifices which have been
preserved in the soul, which is illuminated in two portions out of the three, until it is entirely changed in every part,
and becomes a heavenly brilliancy like a full moon, at the height of its increase at the end of the second week”.
Please let what Philo just said sink in. His readers in those days understood that the weeks were by the moon, same
as in Scripture, and that at the end of the second week there would be a full moon. This statement needs no
interpretation and is impossible to misunderstand. Clearly Philo felt that the moon was on a seven day cycle.
So did the Essenes, Clement of Alexandria, the writers of the Talmud and the Koran.
The Essenes were also around during Philo’s time. Please read this quote found among the fragments in the
Qumran caves along with the Dead Sea Scrolls. Seventy-six fragments of an astronomical text written in a cryptic
alphabet record the phases of the moon divided into 1/14ths of the full size of the moon. J. T. Milik has
reconstructed a 14 line section based on fragment ii, 2-14. It is entitled Phases of the moon (4Q317), part of
which is found below…
“[On the f]ifth (day) of it (the month), [tw]elve (fourteenths of the moon’s surface) are covered and thus it [enters the
day . On the sixth (day) of it] thirteen (fourteenths of its surface) are covered and thus it enters the day. On the
seventh (day) of it [fourteen (fourteenths of its surface) are covered and thus] it enters the day. vacat [On the
eighth (day) of it…the firmament above…its light is to be covered…on the first of the Sabbath. vacat [On the ninth
(day) of it one (fourteenth) portion (of its surface)] is revealed [and thus it entered the night]. On the tenth (day) of
it [two (fourteenths of its surface)] are [revealed and it enters] the night. vacat On the ele[venth (day) of it three
(fourteenths of its surface) are revealed] and thus it enters the night. vacat”
This is utterly astounding. This statement flat out states that the 8th day of the month is the Sabbath and at the
same time very clearly describes the visible light upon the face of the moon as it waxes, linking the moon with the
numbered days of the month including the Sabbath.
Here is another translation of the same parchment (4Q317) done by another set of scholars… “On the eighth of
the month [chodesh], the moon rules all the day in the midst of the sky...and when the sun sets, its light ceases to
be obscured, and thus the moon begins to be revealed on the first day of the week”. Wise, Abegg and Cooke, in
their book The Dead Sea Scrolls, A New Translation, pp 301-303 [All emphasis my own]
If the Essenes did NOT observe the same luni-solar calendar that ancient Israel observed, why does the first day of
the week follow the eighth day of the month? The day BEFORE the first day of the week is the Sabbath!
Still not convinced? In the second century A.D., proof that the Israelites were still keeping the Sabbath day
according to the lunar week can also be found in the writings of Clement of Alexandria (circa 150-215 A.D.):
“[Peter] inferred thus: ‘Neither worship as the Jews...[for] if the moon is not visible, they do not hold the Sabbath,
which is called the first; nor do they hold the new moon, nor the feast of Unleavened Bread, nor the Feast, nor the
Great Day’” The Stromata, chapter 5).
This clearly indicates that at this time the weekly Sabbath was still dictated by the moon’s course.
Further, in vol. 6, chapter 16 of The Stromata, Clement plainly writes that “in periods of seven days the moon
undergoes its changes. In the first week she becomes half moon; in the second [week], full moon; and in the third
[week], in her wane, again half moon; and in the fourth [week] she disappears.”
This is about as plain as it can get. Obviously, in Clement’s day, the week (as kept by the Israelites) was still tied to
the moon’s phases and, by extension, the weekly Sabbath was also still tied to the moon! History also records,
however, that by this time (150-215 A.D.) some of the Christians had indeed gotten away from a week and Sabbath
that was dependent upon the lunar reckoning. The curse of Jeroboam!!
Even the Quran (Koran) is in agreement:
Sura 10.5. It is He who made the sun to be a shining glory and the moon to be a light (of
beauty), and measured out stages for her; that ye might know the number of years and the count (of time). Nowise
did Allah create this but in truth and righteousness. (Thus) doth He explain His Signs in detail, for those who
understand.
Here is another translation of the same passage: “YHVH is the One who made the sun luminescent and the moon a
light, and He designed its phases to provide you with a timing device. YHVH did not create all this in vain.”
What is truely vanity is saying, teaching and believing that the Sabbath is not regulated by the moon, which HAS
seven day cycles, interrupted by new moon days, naturally.
13. The weekly Sabbath is not anchored in any movement of heavenly bodies such as the
moon other than the sun with its evening-morning daily sequence.
Objections to the Calendar of Creation: