Debunking Lunar Sabbath
Lunar Sabbatarians teach that each New Moon resets the weekly seventh-day Sabbath, which God established on the 7th Day of Creation.
According to their hypothesis, when a month ends on Tuesday and a New Moon appears the next day, that day is not Wednesday. It is “New Moon Day.”
The Lunar Sabbath ignores the current weekly 7 day cycle in use today and uses the moon to determine when a new week begins and ends.
Lunar Sabbatarians do not count New Moon Day as one of the six workdays or as a weekly Sabbath. They count the day after their New Moon Day as the first day of a six-day workweek.
This mind-bending method of counting ensures Lunar Sabbatarians that every weekly Sabbath falls on the 8th, 15th, 22nd, and 29th day of each month.
Other groups of Lunar Sabbatarians, however, teach that each New Moon is day one of the new month, and their weekly Sabbath always falls on the 7th, 14th, 21st, and the 28th..
Who propagated this theory?
Jonathan David Brown ( November 20, 1955 – September 27, 2016 ) was an American record producer and audio engineer known for his work on albums released in the Contemporary Christian music industry. Brown served federal prison time as an accessory after the fact for helping a member of the Tennessee White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan evade authorities.
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
In Lunar Sabbath calendars, the 1st and 30th days of each lunar month are considered NON-workdays, neither Sabbath days nor regular workdays.
These days are referred to as “transition days” or “NON-days,” acting as a bridge between the Sabbath and the next week of work.
Some interpretations of the Lunar Sabbath calendar also include New Moon days as Non-workdays, particularly if the next New Moon does not follow the 29th day, extending the non-work period.
When a month has thirty or thirty-one days, Lunar Sabbatarians count them as “transitional” days of the moon. In other words, they do not count.
Like new-moon-days, the thirtieth and thirty-first are
NON-days to Lunar Sabbatarians.
The concept of “NON-days” is not supported by scripture or historical evidence. The consistent weekly cycle, independent of lunar phases, has been the standard throughout history and is affirmed by the biblical narrative, emphasizing the Sabbath as the seventh day of a continuous seven-day cycle.
Translation Days are NOWHERE in the Bible and not Biblical at all
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
The concept of “Extended Worship Days” to align the Lunar Sabbath calendar with the moon is not mentioned anywhere in the Bible.
The Hebrew calendar, while using the moon to determine months, maintains a continuous weekly cycle. The beginning of a new month, marked by the new moon, does not reset the weekly cycle.
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
1 Corinthians14:33
“For God is NOT the author of CONFUSION, but of peace”
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
The sun was given so that we can count days, from morning to morning…
Genesis 1:1–5
“In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. And God saw the LIGHT, that it was GOOD: and God divided the LIGHT from the DARKNESS. And God called the LIGHT DAY, and the DARKNESS he called NIGHT.
And the evening and the morning were the FIRST DAY.”
Day 4
Genesis 1:14–19
“And God said, Let there be LIGHTS in the firmament of the heaven to divide the DAY from the NIGHT; and let them be for SIGNS, and for SEASONS, and for DAYS, and YEARS: and let them be for LIGHTS in the firmament of the heaven to give LIGHT upon the earth: and it was so. And God made TWO GREAT LIGHTS; the GREATER LIGHT to rule the day, and the LESSER LIGHT to rule the night: he made the stars also. And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give LIGHT upon the earth, and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the LIGHT from the DARKNESS: and God saw that it was good.
And the evening and the morning were the FOURTH DAY.”
Genesis 2:1–3
“Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the SEVENTH DAY God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the SEVENTH DAY from all his work which he had made. And God BLESSED the SEVENTH DAY, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.”
Jubilees 2:9
And God appointed the SUN to be a great sign on the earth for DAYS and for SABBATHS and for MONTHS and for FEASTS and for years and for SABBATHS of years and for jubilees and for all seasons of the years.
Jubilees 2:16-22
And He finished all his work on the sixth day -all that is in the heavens and on the earth, and in the seas and in the abysses, and in the light and in the darkness, and in everything.
And He gave us a great sign, the Sabbath day, that we should work six days, but keep Sabbath on the seventh day from all work.
And all the angels of the presence, and all the angels of sanctification, these two great classes -He hath bidden us to keep the Sabbath with Him in heaven and on earth.
And He said unto us: ‘Behold, I will separate unto Myself a people from among all the peoples, and these shall keep the Sabbath day, and I will sanctify them unto Myself as My people, and will bless them; as I have sanctified the Sabbath day and do sanctify (it) unto Myself, even so will I bless them, and they shall be My people and I will be their God.
And I have chosen the seed of Jacob from amongst all that I have seen, and have written him down as My first-born son,and have sanctified him unto Myself for ever and ever; and I will teach them the Sabbath day, that they may keep Sabbath thereon from all work.’
And thus He created therein a sign in accordance with which they should keep Sabbath with us on the seventh day, to eat and to drink, and to bless Him who has created all things as He has blessed and sanctified unto Himself a peculiar people above all peoples, and that they should keep Sabbath together with us.
And He caused His commands to ascend as a sweet savour acceptable before Him all the days . . .
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
Matthew 18:16
“in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.”
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
Exodus 20:8–11
“REMEMBER the SABBATH DAY, to keep it HOLY.
SIX DAYS shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: but the SEVENTH DAY is the SABBATH of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: for in SIX DAYS ( Yom ) the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the SEVENTH DAY: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.”
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, Sabbath
This is an eternal and unchanging, rhythm.
There are no 1 day work weeks and there are no 2 day “weekly” Sabbaths. Thus the Lunar Sabbath has a week that is screwed up every month.
The Lunar sabbath creates an interruption in this pattern every month. There is one week at the beginning of the month where you work more than 6 days and one week at the end of the month when you work less than 6 days.
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
Luke 1:67–73
“And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Ghost, and prophesied, saying, Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; For he hath visited and redeemed his people, And hath raised up an horn of salvation for us In the house of his servant David; As he spake by the mouth of his HOLY PROPHETS, which have been since the world began: That we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us; To perform the MERCY PROMISED to our fathers, And to remember his HOLY COVENANT; The OATH which he sware to our father ABRAHAM,”
Psalm 105:6–12
“O ye SEED of ABRAHAM his servant, Ye children of JACOB his CHOSEN. He is the LORD our God: His judgments are in all the earth. He hath remembered his COVENANT for ever, The word which he commanded to a THOUSAND GENERATIONS. Which COVENANT he made with ABRAHAM, And his OATH unto ISAAC; And confirmed the same unto JACOB for a LAW, And to Israel for an everlasting covenant: Saying, Unto thee will I give the land of Canaan, The lot of your inheritance: When they were but a few men in number; Yea, very few, and strangers in it.”
Psalm 105:41–42
“He opened the rock, and the waters gushed out; They ran in the dry places like a river. For he remembered his HOLY PROMISE, And Abraham his servant.”
Jubilees 2 recap
And I have chosen the seed of Jacob from amongst all that I have seen, and have written him down as My first-born son,and have sanctified him unto Myself for ever and ever; and I will teach them the Sabbath day, that they may keep Sabbath thereon from all work.’
Now, let’s take a look at the giving of manna. This is when God established the pattern of keeping the Sabbath for Israel after they left Egypt.
God established the Sabbath by supplying manna for 6 days, then no manna was given on the 7th day.
Exodus 16:26
“Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day, which is the Sabbath, there will be none.”
We are also told that on the 6th day there was extra manna given for the people to store up and eat on the Sabbath.
Exodus 16:29
“See! For the Lord has given you the Sabbath; therefore He gives you on the sixth-day bread for two days. Let every man remain in his place; let no man go out of his place on the seventh day.”
Exodus 16:35
“And the children of Israel ate manna forty years until they came to an inhabited land; they ate manna until they came to the border of the land of Canaan.”
Now, let’s see how the Lunar Sabbath lines up with this.
Was manna provided on the 1st and 30th days of each month?
Was there any indication that extra manna would be given at the end of the month to supply for those “non-days”? Or are those days meant to be fasting days?
If the Lunar Sabbath is true, then God must have failed to mention such details concerning the “transition days” between each month.
The manna instructions establish a continuous uninterrupted seven-day cycle that causes no questions about what to do when the month starts over because the Sabbath doesn’t reset each month.
The manna would appear on the ground every day except the seventh day, the day of rest. This sequence would repeat every seven days, over and over for 40 years. The weekly cycle of manna only stopped when Israel entered the promised land. Four decades of repetition is plenty of time to clearly establish which day was the day of rest.
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
The Sabbath rest for the land and the jubilee years also incorporate this same rhythm.
Exodus 23:10–12
“And SIX YEARS thou shalt sow thy land, and shalt gather in the FRUITS thereof: but the SEVENTH YEAR thou shalt let it REST and lie still; that the poor of thy people may eat: and what they leave the beasts of the field shall eat. In like manner thou shalt deal with thy vineyard, and with thy oliveyard. SIX DAYS thou shalt do thy work, and on the SEVENTH DAY thou shalt REST: that thine ox and thine ass may rest, and the son of thy handmaid, and the stranger, may be refreshed.”
Exodus 31:13–17
“Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a SIGN between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the LORD that doth sanctify you. Ye shall KEEP THE SABBATH therefore; for it is holy unto you: every one that defileth it shall surely be put to death: for whosoever doeth any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from among his people. Six days may work be done; but in the seventh is the sabbath of rest, holy to the LORD: whosoever doeth any work in the SABBATH DAY, he shall surely be PUT TO DEATH. Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations, for a PERPETUAL COVENANT. It is a SIGN between me and the children of Israel for ever: for in SIX DAYS the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the SEVENTH DAY he rested, and was REFRESHED.”
Exodus 34:21
“SIX DAYS thou shalt WORK, but on the SEVENTH DAY thou shalt REST: in earing time and in harvest thou shalt rest.”
Exodus 35:2–3
“SIX DAYS shall work be done, but on the SEVENTH DAY there shall be to you an HOLY DAY, a SABBATH of REST to the LORD: whosoever doeth work therein shall be put to death. Ye shall kindle no fire throughout your habitations upon the SABBATH DAY.”
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
Deuteronomy 4:2
“Ye shall not ADD unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye DIMINISH ought from it, that ye may keep the COMMANDMENTS of the LORD your God which I command you.”
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
The annual appointed Feast Days of Israel are set according to numerical days of the month
( i.e. 14th of Nisan is Passover, 15th of Nisan is the First Day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, a feast that lasts seven days ).
Notice in Leviticus 23 it gives instructions for each feast day being counted after a certain amount of days of a certain month or moon cycle but we don’t see this for the Sabbath instructions.
It is strictly a counting of days.
No where in the Bible is the Sabbath referred to as the 7th day of the month.
Leviticus 23:2–8
“Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, Concerning the feasts of the LORD, 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 the LORD in all your dwellings.
– – Here is the Switch – –
THESE are the FEASTS of the LORD, even
HOLY CONVOCATIONS, which ye shall proclaim IN THEIR SEASONS.
In the fourteenth day of the first month at even is the LORD’s passover. And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the feast of unleavened bread unto the LORD: seven days ye must eat unleavened bread. In the
FIRST DAY ye shall have an
HOLY CONVOCATION: ye shall do no servile work therein. But ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD SEVEN DAYS: in the SEVENTH DAY is an
HOLY CONVOCATION: ye shall do no servile work therein.”
Psalm 104:19–23
“He appointed the MOON for SEASONS ( mo’ed – appointed times ): The SUN knoweth his going down. Thou makest darkness, and it is night: Wherein all the beasts of the forest do creep forth. The young lions roar after their prey, And seek their meat from God. The sun ariseth, they gather themselves together, And lay them down in their dens. Man goeth forth unto his work And to his labour until the evening.”
Ecclesiasticus 43:6-8
He made the moon also to serve in her season for a declaration of times, and a sign of the world. From the MOON is the SIGN of FEASTS, a light that decreaseth in her perfection. The MONTH is called after her NAME, increasing wonderfully in her changing, being an instrument of the armies above, shining in the firmament of heaven;
The annual appointed Feast Days are set according to numerical days of the month ( 14th of Nisan is Passover, 15th of Nisan is the First Day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, a feast that lasts seven days ).
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
Counting the Omer
This continuous cycle of days is what allows us to accurately count the Omer—seven weeks plus one day that equals fifty) from First Fruits to Shavuot. Imagine trying to count to fifty using a Lunar Sabbatarian calendar, two and sometimes three non-days every month.
Leviticus 23:15-16
And ye shall count unto you from the morrow AFTER THE SABBATH, from the day that ye brought the sheaf of the wave offering;
SEVEN SABBATHS shall be complete:Even unto the morrow after the seventh sabbath shall ye number FIFTY DAYS; and ye shall offer a new meat offering unto the LORD.
Determining the Passover first fruits day does not work.
First Fruits always lands on a Sunday or the first day after the first Sabbath following Passover. In the Lunar Sabbath perspective it would always fall on the same day, the day after the Sabbath or the 16th of Aviv. If that were the case why didn’t Yehovah make that a firm date, instead of saying “the day after the Sabbath“?
7 Sabbaths = 50 days, not 52 like a lunar calendar would give you. You don’t need any calendar to keep track of a 7 day cycle. That’s exactly what has happened. We know that the historical 7th day in the 1st century was Saturday. Nothing ever changed that.
This continuous cycle of days is what allows us to accurately count the Omer—seven weeks plus one day that equals fifty) from First Fruits to Shavuot. Imagine trying to count to fifty using a Lunar Sabbatarian calendar, two and sometimes three non-days every month.
Lunar Sabbath Reckoning for Pentecost
The timing of Pentecost can also be reckoned in a way that aligns with the Lunar Sabbath Calendar. This is because Leviticus 23:15-16 can be interpreted as instructions to first count seven Sabbaths and then fifty days. The phrase “even unto” in the KJV can be interpreted such that that the count of fifty days should begin after the seven Sabbaths are complete. This results in Pentecost being reckoned in the fourth month of the calendar instead of the third.
There is a second place in scripture that describes the reckoning of Pentecost is in Deuteronomy 16:9, and which does not do so as ambiguously as Leviticus 23:
Deuteronomy 16:9–10
“Seven weeks shalt thou number unto thee: begin to number the seven weeks from such time as thou beginnest to put the sickle to the corn. And thou shalt keep the feast of weeks unto the LORD thy God with a tribute of a freewill offering of thine hand, which thou shalt give unto the LORD thy God, according as the LORD thy God hath blessed thee:”
This passage clearly does not specify seven weeks and then fifty days, it only requires the counting of seven weeks. Therefore the interpretation of Leviticus 23:15-16 must refer to counting seven weeks or fifty days, which is not possible on the Lunar Sabbath Calendar.
The Biblical year begins with the sighting of the first New Moon after the barley in Israel reaches “aviv” ( ripeness ). Sadly, Lunar Sabbatarians miss the real seventh-day Sabbath each week.
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
Difference between Weekly Sabbath and
High Sabbath
Shabbat
(שַׁבָּת)
This is the most common Hebrew word for the weekly Sabbath, the seventh day of the week.
It is derived from the verb “shavat” (שָׁבַת), meaning “to cease” or “to rest”.
Shabbat Shabbaton
(שַׁבַּתשַׁבָּתוֹן):
This phrase combines “Shabbat” with “Shabbaton,” which can be translated as “a special Sabbath” or “a day of complete rest”. It is used to denote the annual Feast Sabbaths, which are part of the Biblical festivals (e.g., Passover, Yom Kippur, etc.). These days are considered especially holy and involve a stricter prohibition of work than the weekly Shabbat
Let’s look at an example in scripture where the moon is not used to determine a “moedim,” then their entire argument will fall to the ground.
Why? Because if we have examples in scripture where the moon is not involved in setting some “moedim,” it proves that the moon doesn’t necessarily need to be involved in the weekly Sabbath either.
Example:
Judges 20:38
“Now there was an
APPOINTED SIGN ( MOED ) between the men of Israel and the liers in wait, that they should make a great flame with smoke rise up out of the city.”
The word “moed” is translated “appointed signal.” Contextually, the appointed signal was making a cloud of smoke rise up from the city. No moon required. Obviously we can’t use the moon to light a fire.
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
Holes in this Hypothesis
Rosh Chodesh
The New Moon ( Rosh Chodesh ) determines each new month.
But make no mistake, if one month ends on the 4th day of the weekly cycle, the new month will begin on the 5th day of the weekly cycle. Regardless of whether you are using the Hebrew names for the days of the week (Day One; Day Two; Day Three; etc.) or pagan names, the sequence remains unbroken.
Cassius wrote that the Romans who learned that the Jews rested on the Days of Saturn ( Saturday which was known as Saturn’s Day in Rome ), attacked the Jerusalem stronghold on those days.
Similar to the words of the historian Cassius Dio, this Roman soldier equated the day of rest ( Sabbath ) of the Jews to the Day of Saturn ( Saturday which was known as Saturn’s Day in Rome ).
The Greek word “Sabbaton” ( Strong’s Greek Concordance – G4521 – σάββατον ) used in the Original Greek Manuscripts of the New Testament which is translated as “Sabbath” in English, is the same word that is used for “Saturday” in the Greek language even today. In other words, the day which is known to us as “Saturday”, is called “Sabbato” (σάββατο) by the Greeks even today.
The shameful fact that in English Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday are named for pagan gods, changes nothing. Sunday is day one, Monday day two, Tuesday day three, Wednesday day four, Thursday day five, Friday day six, and Saturday is still God’s seventh-day Sabbath!
Luke 4:16 tells us that Yeshua’s custom was to go into the synagogue every Sabbath Day.
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
Week means Seven
In Hebrew, the number seven and the word translated “week”
‘are both rooted
in the same Hebrew root verb which simply means “seven.”
H7620
shabuwa
shaw-boo’-ah
shabuan {shaw-boo’-ah}; also (feminine) shbu.ah {sheb-oo-aw’}; properly, passive participle of 7650 as a denominative of 7651; literal, sevened, i.e. a week (specifically, of years):–seven, week.
And the Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament states:
Shabua – period of seven, a week, the Feast of Weeks.
This term occurs twenty times in the OT, always indicating a period of seven. The word comes to us from sheba (q.v.) and could literally be translated always as “seven-period.”
H7651
sheba
sheh’-bah or (masculine) shibrah {shib-aw’}; from 7650; a primitive cardinal number; seven (as the sacred full one); also (adverbially) seven times; by implication, a week; by extension, an indefinite number:-(+ by) seven (-fold),-s, (-teen, -teenth), -th, times). Compare 7658.
“Shabua” is just another form of the same word.
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
Did the change to the Gregorian calendar in 1582 lose track of the seventh day?
What most people do not understand is that the amount of days dropped from the Julian Calendar, when it was changed to the Gregorian calendar, did not in anyway effect the 7 day week. In other words, even though 10 days were removed from the calendar, it did not affect the individual days ( Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, etc. )
From 46 B.C. up to A.D. 1582, the Western world used what is called the Julian calendar. It was a vast improvement over the previous Roman calendars because it finally kept the months in sync with the seasons. However, after many centuries even the Julian calendar was about 10 days out of sync with the solar system.
In 1582 the old Julian calendar was replaced with the new, improved Gregorian calendar, which is the calendar system we still use today. At the time of the change to the new calendar system, those 10 days were simply dropped out of the calendar to get the dating system of the calendar back in sync with the solar system. It was Thursday, Oct. 4, 1582, and the next day, Friday, should have been Oct. 5. However, the new calendar made the next day Oct. 15 instead.
That change had no impact on the seven-day weekly cycle. Whether that following Friday was numbered as the 5th of the month or the 15th of the month, it was still the sixth day of the week, and the day that followed was still the seventh day of the week.
The sequencing of the days of the week (Sunday through Saturday) never changed. Here is a quote taken from ecclesia.org.
“The calendar, which continued in use for fifteen centuries was not accurate in length of its year for it was a quarter hour too long. By 1582, it was ten days off. Pope Gregory initiated a change in the calendar by going to the Gregorian Calendar, and to make up for the error in the Julian calendar, ten days were added… In October 1582, Thursday the 4th was followed by Friday the 15th in Italy and a few other countries. England and America changed its calendar in 1752 and Russia finally in 1914. Yet the weekly cycle was never affected.”
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
Jubilees 6:
And command thou the children of Israel that they observe the years according to this reckoning- three hundred and sixty-four days, and (these) will constitute a complete year, and they will not disturb its time from its days and from its feasts; for everything will fall out in them according to their testimony, and they will not leave out any day nor disturb any feasts.
But if they do neglect and do not observe them according to His commandment, then they will disturb all their seasons and the years will be dislodged from this (order), [and they will disturb the seasons and the years will be dislodged] and they will neglect their ordinances.
And all the children of Israel will FORGET and WILL NOT find the path of the years, and will FORGET the NEW MOONS, and seasons, and SABBATHS and they WILL GO WRONG as to all the order of the years.
For I know and from henceforth will I declare it unto thee, and it is not of my own devising; for the book (lies) written before me, and on the heavenly tablets the division of days is ordained, lest they forget the feasts of the covenant and walk according to the feasts of the Gentiles after their error and after their ignorance.
For there will be those who will assuredly make
OBSERVATIONS OF THE MOON -how (it) disturbs the seasons and comes in from year to year
TEN DAYS too soon.
For this reason the years will come upon them when they will disturb (the order), and make an abominable (day) the day of testimony, and an UNCLEAN DAY a FEAST DAY, and they will confound all the days, the HOLY with the UNCLEAN, and the UNCLEAN DAY with the HOLY; for they will go WRONG as to the months and SABBATHS and FEASTS and JUBILEES.
For this reason I command and testify to thee that thou mayst testify to them; for after thy death thy children will disturb (them), so that they will not make the year three hundred and sixty-four days only, and for this reason they will go wrong as to the new moons and seasons and SABBATHS and festivals, and they will eat all kinds of blood with all kinds of flesh.
Enoch 72:32-33
On that day the night decreases and amounts to nine parts, and the day to nine parts, and the night is equal to the day and the year is exactly as to its days THREE HUNDRED and SIXTY-FOUR.
A lunar year has about 354 days. This is because a lunar month, or lunation, is about 29.5 days long, and a lunar year is made up of 12 lunations.
If you keep the lunar calendar you will be 10 days off just as Jubilees prophesied.
Enoch:80
1 And in those days the angel Uriel answered and said to me: ‘ Behold, I have shown thee everything, Enoch, and I have revealed everything to thee that thou shouldst see this sun and this moon, and the leaders of the stars of the heaven and all those who turn them, their tasks and times and departures.
2 And in the days of the sinners the years shall be shortened,
And their seed shall be tardy on their lands and fields,
And all things on the earth shall alter,
And shall NOT appear in their time:
And the rain shall be kept back
And the heaven shall withhold (it).
3 And in those times the fruits of the earth shall be backward,
And shall not grow in their time,
And the fruits of the trees shall be withheld in their time.
4 And the ✨MOON shall ALTER HER ORDER✨
And NOT appear at her time.
5 And IN THOSE DAYS the sun shall be seen and he shall journey in the evening on the extremity of the great chariot in the west]
And shall shine more brightly than accords with the order of light.
6 And many chiefs of the stars shall TRANSGRESS THE ORDER✨(prescribed).
And these shall alter their orbits and tasks, And NOT APPEAR at the SEASONS PRESCRIBED to them.
7 And the whole ORDER OF THE STARS shall be CONCEALED from the SINNERS✨l,
And the thoughts of those on the earth shall ERR CONCERNING THEM,
And they shall be altered from all their ways, Yea, they shall err and take them to be gods.
8 And evil shall be multiplied upon them, And punishment shall come upon them So as to destroy all.’
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
False Sabbaths
Amos 6:3-6 from Greek (LXX) to English:
Those who come near the day of evil, who draw near and touch the FALSE SABBATHS;
Those who lie on ivory beds and stretch themselves out on their couches, and eat LAMBS from the flock and calves from the midst of the stall;
Who sing to the sound of the harp, as if they were in a good place, and do not grieve;
Who drink the refined wine and anoint themselves with the finest oils, but are not pained at all by the ruin of Joseph.
Hosea 8:11–14
“Because Ephraim ( America ) hath made many altars to sin, altars shall be unto him to sin. I have written to him the great things of my law, but they were counted as a strange thing. They sacrifice flesh for the sacrifices of mine offerings, and EAT IT; but the LORD accepteth them not; now will he remember their iniquity, and visit their sins: they shall return to Egypt. For Israel hath forgotten his Maker, and buildeth temples; and Judah hath multiplied fenced cities: but I will send a fire upon his cities, and it shall devour the palaces thereof.”
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
Ezekiel’s Gate
Ezekiel 43:10–11
“Thou son of man, shew the house to the house of Israel, that they may be ashamed of their iniquities: and let them measure the pattern. And ✨IF✨they be ashamed of all that they have done, shew them the form of the house, and the fashion thereof, and the goings out thereof, and the comings in thereof, and all the forms thereof, and all the ordinances thereof, and all the forms thereof, and all the laws thereof: and write it in their sight, that they may keep the whole form thereof, and all the ordinances thereof, and do them.”
Ezekiel 46:1
“Thus saith the Lord GOD; The gate of the inner court that looketh toward the east shall be SHUT the six working days; but on the SABBATH it shall be OPENED, and in the day of the NEW MOON it shall be opened.”
Ezekiel 46:1 Misinterpretation:
Lunar Sabbath proponents misinterpret Ezekiel 46:1, which states that the gate of the inner court will be shut for six working days but open on the Sabbath and New Moon. They infer that this means the New Moon is not part of the week. This is an unwarranted assumption, as the verse simply states when the gate is open or shut.
It cannot be true that the first part of Ezekiel 46:1 ( i.e. the East Gate will always be closed during the six working days ) is an “absolute truth”, because that assertion is contradicted by Ezekiel 46:12 :
Ezekiel 46:12
“Now when the prince shall prepare a voluntary burnt offering or peace offerings voluntarily unto the LORD, one shall then open him the gate that looketh toward the east, and he shall prepare his burnt offering and his peace offerings, as he did on the sabbath day: then he shall go forth; and after his going forth one shall shut the gate.”
This passage describes the same Prince of verse 1 coming to the temple with a voluntary offering. When he arrives, the East Gate will be opened, and when he leaves the gate will be closed. This does not happen on a Sabbath or New Moon because the gate is not already open when he arrives. Clearly then, this is another exception to the rule in v1 that the gate will be closed during the six working days. If we add this exception in verse twelve to the details in verse one, we obtain the following statement:
The gate of the inner court that looketh toward the east shall be shut the six working days
but on the sabbath it shall be opened, and in the day of the new moon it shall be opened, and when the Prince offers a voluntary burnt offering or peace offering it shall be opened.
By considering both verse one and verse twelve, it should be clear that the first part of verse one is a “rule of thumb”, and NOT an absolute truth. Therefore it cannot be proven that the New Moon Day is a separate day from the “WORKING DAYS” in verse one.
Another major problem with applying Ezekiel 46:1 to the Lunar Sabbath Calendar is that there is no provision for Extended Worship Days. Since the Lunar Month is approximately 29.5 days long, every second month will have thirty days instead of twenty-nine. The thirtieth day of the month is an Extended Worship Day, which cannot be considered one of the six working days, or a Sabbath, or the New Moon day. Unfortunately, Ezekiel 46 does not mention Extended Worship Days at all. It does not define whether the East Gate should be open or closed during that day.
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
Amos 8 selling Corn
Amos 8:5
“saying, When will the new moon be gone, that we may sell corn? AND the SABBATH, that we may set forth wheat, making the ephah small, and the shekel great, and falsifying the balances by deceit?”
The portion of the passage alluding to ‘selling is not included in the Dead Sea Scrolls version of this text:
Amos 5:8 DSS manuscript 4Q82
“Saying, When will the new moon be gone, that we may be satisfied?…”
The only New Moon commanded not to do any servile work is found in Numbers 29
Numbers 29:1
“And in the seventh month, on the first day of the month, ye shall have an holy convocation; ye shall do no servile work: it is a day of blowing the trumpets unto you.”
Several feast days involve abstaining from servile work, also known as ordinary or laborious work.
These include the first day of Passover,
the first and seventh days of the Feast of Unleavened Bread,
and the Feast of Trumpets (the first day of the seventh month).
On these days, a
“holy convocation” or sacred assembly is held, and regular work is prohibited.
The 22nd was not a Sabbath in:
Numbers 10:11; 12; 33
In contrast with the New Moon Day, the Sabbath is described extensively throughout Scripture as a non-working day. There are also no scriptures that describe the New Moon Day as a day separate from the days of the week.
There are scriptures which show men building (Exodus 40) and traveling (Ezra 7:9) on the new moon day. Also, it is not commanded anywhere that we must rest on any new moon day except the new moon day of the 7th month. The new moon on the 7th month is the Feast of Trumpets.
This new moon would be what scripture alludes to in Amos 8:5 when some couldn’t sell their grains on the new moon day.
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
From the Key of David teaching we learn that the Sabbath falls on the 3rd day month which refutes the Lunar Sabbath doctrine.
The Claim:
Lunar Sabbatarians claim that
1 Samuel 20:18-19 shows the pattern of the New Moon and the ‘extra days’. And that I t demonstrates that no commerce or work is to be conducted, based on the word ‘business’ used in the verse. Lastly, Saul was having a meal or banquet, which some say proves this is a Sabbath rest.
1 Samuel 20 does not provide evidence for a lunar sabbath as a specific weekly day of rest, but rather highlights the importance of the New Moon as a significant marker in the ancient Hebrew calendar. The text describes the New Moon as the start of a new month and a period of celebration and feasting, rather than a weekly day of rest like the Sabbath.
Here’s a more detailed explanation:
New Moon as a Start of a Month:
1 Samuel 20:5 mentions that “tomorrow is the new moon,” indicating the beginning of a new lunar month.
The text details that Saul was inquiring about David’s absence from the meal on the New Moon, suggesting a customary feast associated with this lunar event.
Not a Weekly Sabbath:
The text does not establish a weekly lunar sabbath as a day of rest, but rather focuses on the New Moon as a distinct event within the lunar cycle.
In 1 Samuel 20:5, we read:
“David said to Jonathan, “Behold, tomorrow is the NEW MOON, and I should not fail to sit at the table with the king. But let me go, that I may hide myself in the field till the THIRD DAY at evening.”
Then, in 1 Samuel 20:24-25, we read:
“So David hid himself in the field, and when the New Moon came the king sat down to eat meat. And the king sat upon his seat, as at other times, even upon a seat by the wall, and Jonathan arose, and Abner sat by Saul’s side, and David’s place was empty.”
Then in 1 Samuel 20:34, it says:
“And Jonathan rose up from the table (this is still day one) in the heat of anger. And he did not eat food on the SECOND DAY of the NEW MOON, ( he fasted on the second day ) for he was grieved for David.”
Day Three Of The Month
1 Samuel 20:35:
“And it came to pass in the morning, Jonathan went out into the field at the time appointed ( this is the third day of the new month ) with David…”
On The Appointed Third Day
In verses 20:42, Jonathan bids David to go in peace, declaring that Yehovah’s name was between them and their seed forever, and in the very next verse David goes to Nob, where he talks to Ahimelech, the priest, who trembles and asks him:
“Why are you by yourself, and no man with you?”
David answers in verse two:
“The king has commanded me a matter. He said, ‘Do not let a man know anything of the matter about which I am sending you…”
Then, in verse 3, when David asks the priest for bread, he replies (in verse 4):
“There is no common bread under my hand but only HOLY BREAD ( the showbread ).” When the priest inquires if David and his young men have kept themselves from WOMEN, which would have rendered them ceremonially unclean, David replies ( in verse 5 ):
“Surely, a woman has been kept from us THREE DAYS since I came out, and the vessels of the young men are HOLY, and the bread is in a manner common, although it was sanctified this day in the vessel.”
What did David mean when he said the bread was, in a manner, common? The answer is found in the very next verse (verse 6) which says:
“And the priest gave the holy bread to him, for there was no bread except the Bread of the Presence which is taken from the presence of the LORD in order to put hot bread in on the day it is taken away.”
And on what day does the old bread get replaced with new bread?
It happens every weekly Sabbath as we see in Leviticus 24
Leviticus 24:8-9
“Every SABBATH he shall set it
( the showbread ) in order before the LORD continually, being taken from the children of Israel by an EVERLASTING COVENANT. And it shall be Aaron and his sons, and they shall eat it (the replaced showbread) in the holy place, for it is most holy unto him of the offerings of the LORD made by fire by a perpetual statute.”
These verses clearly establish that the day on which the New Moon is spotted is counted as day ONE of each new month. It is NOT a non-day. And this particular first weekly Sabbath of the month, on which David and his men ate the outgoing showbread, did not fall on the 8th day of the month, nor the 7th. This first weekly Sabbath of the new month fell on the 3rd day.
Matthew 12:1–8
“At that time Jesus went on the sabbath day through the corn; and his disciples were an hungred, and began to pluck the ears of corn, and to eat. But when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto him, Behold, thy disciples do that which is not lawful to do upon the sabbath day. But he said unto them, Have ye not read what David did, when he was an hungred, and they that were with him; how he entered into the house of God, and did eat the shewbread, which was not lawful for him to eat, neither for them which were with him, but only for the priests? Or have ye not read in the law, how that on the sabbath days the priests in the temple profane the sabbath, and are blameless? But I say unto you, That in this place is one greater than the temple. But if ye had known what this meaneth, I will have MERCY, and not SACRIFICE, ye would not have condemned the guiltless. For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day.”
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
Another fatal assumption made by Lunar Sabbatarians is Rome had an eight-day week, so Jews of the first century could not have kept the correct seventh-day Sabbath. They ignore the historical fact that between 17 BCE and 14 CE, Rome also used a seven-day planetary week calendar.
Here is a quote from “Sunday In Roman Paganism” by Robert Leo Odum:
“In 1795 were found the marble fragments of which is known as the Sabine Calendar ( Fasti Sabini ), in a place in central Italy. The portions represent the months of September and October in the Julian calendar. The experts in this type of archaeological find have declared them to belong to the reign of Augustus Caesar and to have been used between 19 BCE and 4 CE.”
Here is another quote:
This one is from Famous Firsts In The Ancient and Greek World, It is found under the heading “First Reference To a Seven Day Week.” It states: “An inscription (CIL 1. 220) dated between 19 BCE and 14 CE, preserving the remains of the Sabine calendar is the earliest known public record of a seven-day week.”
Israel’s Jews influenced the world, not the other way around. Here is a quote from the first-century Jewish historian, Josephus, taken from Against Apion; Book 2; Page 811; Subsection 282. “…the multitude of mankind itself has had a great inclination for a long time to follow our religious observance; for there is not any city of the Grecians, nor any of the barbarians, nor any nation whatsoever, whither our custom of resting on the seventh day hath not come.”
Dio Cassius; Volume 8; Page 271:
“Thus was Jerusalem destroyed on the very day of Saturn, the day which even now the Jews reverence most.”
Strategematicon – Julius Frontinus
Page 98
“The deified Vespasian attacked the Jews on the day of Saturn, a day on which it is sinful for them to do any business, and so defeated them.”
– Hastings, Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics, p.63
“The Babylonians appear to have observed a Sabbath on every seventh day of the lunar month, and it is probable that this usage was originally connected with the four quarters of the moon. Among the Jews the seven days’ week was reckoned independently of the moon…”
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
Isaiah 1:13–20
“Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an abomination unto me; the NEW MOONS and
( High ) SABBATHS, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with; it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting. Your NEW MOONS and your APPOINTED FEASTS my soul hateth: they are a trouble unto me; I am weary to bear them. And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you: yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are FULL OF BLOOD. Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil; learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow. Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land: but if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.”
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
Ezekiel 20:20
“and hallow my sabbaths; and they shall be a SIGN between me and you, that ye may know that I am the LORD your God.”
Titus 1:13–15
“This witness is true. Wherefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith; not giving heed to Jewish fables, and commandments of men, that turn from the truth. Unto the pure all things are pure: but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure; but even their mind and conscience is defiled.”
Revelation 22:14–15
“Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and IDOLATORS, and whosoever LOVETH and MAKETH a LIE.”
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
Hebrews 10:24-25
And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: NOT FORSAKING the ASSEMBLING of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the DAY APPROACHING.
Matthew 7:13–14
“Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: because STAIT IS THE GATE, and NARROW IS THE WAY, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.”