Q.

How can you justify breaking up the seven-day cycle?

A.

Is that really a bad thing? The jubilee years break up the cycle of seven-year land Sabbaths, and people accept that. (Every seventh year is a land Sabbath. Then, after seven of these, which is 49 years, there is the Jubilee year.)

The real question is how can you be sure that there really is a seven-day continuous cycle in the Biblical Calendar? Note that the Bible contains many references to the New Moon, or New Moons, in context of the Sabbath. The New Moon initiates a seven day cycle for the rest of the month.

(The Hebrew word translated "month" in the KJV is the same exact word translated "new moon" elsewhere, Strong's #2320. The English word "month" is related to the word "moon".)

Q.

"Saturday" must be the Sabbath, because the word "Sabbath" is used for that day in many different languages.

A.

These are modern languages which developed these words following the time of the Roman Empire and Constantine. Notice the Roman Catholic influence, for example, in Spanish: Saturday = Sabado, Sunday = Domingo. Domingo means "Lord's Day", the Catholic day of worship, which is the first day of the week. Sabado reflects the Catholic idea of the Jewish Sabbath.

The Greek "Sabbato" is not ancient Greek. The key is seen when you notice the modern Greek word for "Sunday" is "Kyriake", which is the Catholic "Lord's day".

What is more revealing is that the ancient Greek word for "Saturday" is hemera Kronou which means "day of Kronos". Kronos, is of couse, "Father Time", otherwise known as "Saturn". "Saturday" is "Saturn's day". The Sabbath is on a different calendar, which does not use a weekly cycle, nor does it start at midnight, so it does not coincide with any pagan day.

Even if the Roman Church knows that the original calendar was lunar, they need to do this to fit their claims that the Resurrection occurred on Easter Sunday, the first day of the Gregorian week. They must call the seventh day of the Gregorian week the "Jewish Sabbath", in order to fit the Gospel chronology.

(Note that the days of the week referred to in the Gospel concerning the Crucifixion and Resurrection are actually on the Hebrew, not Roman calendar, since the event centers around Passover, which is determined by a Hebrew lunar calendar.)

Q.

Didn't Constantine change the Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday?

A.

It is true that Constantine promoted Sunday and passed a law enforcing its observance in AD 321. But this is a simplification that masks the true issue. He did more than just changing one day to another: He changed the entire calendar.

• He changed the eight-day week of the Julian calendar to the seven-day planetary week.
• He changed the religious observations from the Hebrew calendar, in which the weeks were anchored to the Lunar month, to a continuously cycling seven day week independent from the month.

The reason most Jews keep Saturday today is the same exact reason that most Christians keep Sunday - because of Constantine's calendar change, and the persecutions by which he enforced these changes. Prior to this, in 46-45 BC, Julius Caesar had separated the months and weeks from the Moon and made a continuous eight day cycle, but he did not enforce it on other nations living within the Empire.

Constantine created a big compromise. He blended the Hebrew idea of a seven day week with the Julian concept of a continuous weekly cycle, and added the veneration of the "Sun God" from Mithraism to create the Roman calendar used today. (There was a slight modification done in 1582 by Pope Gregory 13th, but this did not change the weekly cycle introduced by Constantine.)

When Constantine changed the observation of Passover to Easter with the Council of Nicaea in AD 325, there was much more involved than meets the eye. At first glance, the reckoning of Easter and Passover seem similar:

• Easter is the first Sunday following the first Full Moon after the Spring Equinox.
• Passover is fourteen days after the first New Moon of Spring (and will of course be on a Full Moon).

Note that Easter must always fall on a specific day of the week, a Sunday. But in order to have the day Sunday, there has to be a calendar with a seven day continuous weekly cycle. This means that the eight day Julian calendar cannot be used, and neither can the Hebrew calendar whose weeks start at the beginning of the month. In order to "change Passover to Easter", the entire system of calendation had to be changed. This is what Constantine did.

The Jewish response to this was that the Sanhedrin, under leadership of Rabbi Hillel II in AD 358, altered the Biblical calendar. Since Jews under the leadership of a Rabbi believe that the Rabbi has power to change Biblical laws, and the Catholics believe that the Pope has power to do the same, Constantine's calendar was accepted by the nominal majority of Jews and Catholics. The Jews continued to worship on a seventh day, but it was no longer was on the Biblical calendar, and so was not really the Biblical Sabbath. The Catholics, of course, kept Sunday, and the Protestants which came out of them generally continue to do the same.

Q.

Doesn't Colossians 2:14-16 say that the new moons and Sabbath were "nailed to the cross"?

A.

To see what Colossians 2:14-16 means, it is best to start at the first chapter, first verse of Colossians. Here are some verses with parts emphasized.

Notice the themes so far:

1. reconciliation and forgiveness of sins is accomplished by the blood of Christ on the cross
2. the body of Christ is his church
3. beware of any man who will try to beguile you

Now we are prepared to understand the verses that follow. We will look for these three themes. Here are the verses:

Now, we will take them piece by piece.

The theme here is #1 "reconciliation and forgiveness of sins".

Next part:

Notice it says
    handwriting of ordinances that was against us
    (cheirographon tois dogmasin that was against us)
not
    ordinances that were against us

It is not the ordinances themselves that were against us, it was the handwriting (cheirographon) of ordinances that was against us. The word cheirographon refers to a certificate of debt. It was the certificate of debt, the written record of our sins, which was metaphorically nailed to the cross.

(which was evidence to accuse us)

(and removed its power to accuse)

What was nailed to the cross? Some say "The Ten Commandments". Others say "the law of Moses, but not the Ten Commandments". What do the apostles say?

What was nailed to the cross was Christ himself, who bore our sins. No law was nailed to the cross. Our sins, as carried by the Saviour, were nailed to the cross. This is not a new concept. As an example, here is a quote from the famous hymn "It is Well With My Soul".

Continuing in the Scriptures with the next verse in Colossians:

This is a reference to verse 1.16. These are powers of evil, who could no longer accuse the brethern whose sins were thus forgiven.

(Theme #3 – beware of man)

(The pagans have their own ways of eating, drinking, and observing festivals that are contrary to the Biblical days.)

Notice it doesn't say "were a shadow of things that already came", but "are a shadow of things to come". Big difference.

Note that the KJV translators (following previous traditions in earlier English versions) added the word "is", which is why that word appears in italics in the printed KJV. The addition of that verb changes the meaning of the entire sentence. But there is no need to add words to make the translation "clearer"; Paul has already told us that the body of Christ is the church. It should read:

Here is my paraphrase of those four verses:

Continuing in the KJV:

Notice the theme is #3, beware of man. A new element appears, the "voluntary humility and worship of angels". Later on in history, the monastic system, the adoration of Mary and the saints, etc, became prevalent in the Roman church.

Again is a reference to the Head (Christ) and the body (the church), theme #2.

The verses that follow speak more on pagan philosophy, the monastic system which grew into the Roman church, and human traditions.

Q.

Doesn't the Apostle Paul criticize the Galatians for keeping "Jewish" feast days?

A.

No. The problem was the reversion to keeping pagan days (ie, Easter) and the practice of astrology.

By reading the passage in Galatians in context, it becomes plain that the problem was that the people were going back to pagan practices which they had kept "when [they] knew not God". (Note for SDA scholars: This explanation of the Galatians keeping pagan, not Jewish, festivals was taught by A.T. Jones and E.J. Waggoner in 1888.)

Q.

If the Lunar-Solar Calendar was divinely ordained, why is it that there are about 365.25 days in a year, and about 29.53 days in a month? One would expect nice round numbers.

A.

As originally created, the years and months did have "nice round numbers", and the surface of the Moon was shiny and smooth. What happened to disrupt this, and when it happened, is beyond the scope of this web site. The author does not want to distract from the subject at hand, which is the calendar as it exists today. We need to work with what we have.

Q.

How exactly does one observe the Moon to determine the beginning of the month? Do you use the Dark Phase (Conjunction), Sliver, Crescent, etc?

A.

Unfortunately, at this point in time, there is not agreement on which method matches the Scriptures. There are various traditions also, and the result is that they disagree by a day or two. Obviously, everyone feels that their method is correct. The author believes that in the future these details will become plain.

Q.

What happens if you don't see the moon - because of clouds, etc? Do you not keep that Sabbath?

A.

Questions like these are often intended to discredit the Lunar Sabbath specifically, but they could be equally applied to any of the Feasts (Day of Atonement, etc) which everyone agrees were based on a Lunar Calendar. The Israelites were quite capable of determining the New Moon under various weather conditions two or three thousand years ago. For example, in 1 Samuel we read:

How did they know that the New Moon was the next day? We don't know for sure, but we can make some assumptions. Since David was a shepherd he was used to interpreting the signs in the sky and could see what was going to come. The Moon doesn't make sudden changes.

Q.

Do the Jews today know that the original Sabbath was based upon the lunar calendar?

A.

Q.

Doesn't the New Testament supersede the Law of Moses?

A.

Compare these Scripture verses for yourself, and see if that is the case. First, here are some verses from Leviticus 19, presented in order, with some parts emphasized.

Now notice these verses in the New Testament book of "James". These are again presented in order, with some parts emphasized.

There obviously in a similarity between the quotes in James and Leviticus 19. What is the "royal law" Many people say that the entire Old Testament Law was "done away with" after the Cross. Others say that the Ten Commandments are still valid. But James says that it is sin to violate the "royal law". Read it for yourself:

What is the "royal law"? It is the law which says to "love your neighbor" and not to discriminate between rich and poor "with respect to persons". You will find the original reference to this in Leviticus 19:15, and 19:18.

By the way, the name "James" in the Greek is "Yakob" and is translated as the Jewish-flavored name "Jacob" when referring to Old Testament characters, as in Romans 9:13, or Hebrews 11:20-21, but as the English-flavored name "James" when referring to New Testament characters. Why this bias?

Q.

If the Lunar Sabbath is true, why there wasn't any reference to it in Genesis?

A.

Well, of course there is.

The word for SEASONS is Strongs #4150

Now let's look at Levitcus 23.

All of the capitalized words are Strongs #4150. FEASTS and SEASONS are both the same word, #4150, and it is first appears in the Bible in Genesis 1:14. Notice what's right there along with the other "feasts" in Leviticus 23, verse 3. The seventh day Sabbath. And whose feasts are they? The LORD's.

Let's look at the next verses:

So the Passover is on the "fourteenth day of the first month". Note that the word "month" is Strongs #2320, and that the same word is translated as "moon" or "moons" whenever the phrase "new moon" or "new moons" appears in the KJV. And notice that when ever "New Moon(s)" appears in a verse, the word "Sabbath(s)" is right along with it.

So Passover is determined by the "moon". It says the "fifteenth day" is the start of the seven-day-long feast of Unleavened Bread, and that the day (the fifteenth) is a "holy convocation" and requires "no servile work." That's because it's also the seventh day Sabbath. The fifteenth of the Lunar month is always the seventh day Sabbath. That's why the fourth commandment in Deuteronomy references the event of the Exodus from Egypt (on the fifteenth) when describing the Sabbath.

Genesis 1:14 says that a certain light in the heavens indicates the "SEASONS" (#4150, religious festivals). It does not specify what that light is. Just so there's no question, Psalm 104:19 identifies what that light is:

Which light distinguishes the seven day Sabbath? Some would say "the sun" - just count every seven day-sequences. But can you look at the sun and tell one day from the next? Or is is up to the last count that you inherited from some ancestors who told you their count has been continuous, even though you can't see anything in the sun to distinguish the days of the week?

Now what about the moon? Does the moon look different on different days? Does it have a distinguishing shape and a pattern? Remember, Psalm 104:19 identifies the moon with the #4150 "religious festivals". Again, according to SDAs, the only "religious festival" in Genesis was the seventh day Sabbath.

Summary: The Creation account in Genesis indicates that YHWH appointed a light in the heavens to designate religious festivals. Psalm 104 identifies the light as the moon, which makes sense, since its appearance changes in a regular manner, like some kind of clock. Leviticus 23 identifies all these festivals, including the seven day Sabbath, and specifies details on some like Passover which clearly shows that they are indicated by the moon. All of the "feasts of the LORD" use the same calendar.

Q.

A count of every seven days seems pretty simple to me. Why change to a possibly man made tradition from obscure Jewish history that might be falsified information? You have to look outside scripture entirely to come up with a non-weekly cycle for the Sabbath. How does this fit into the Great Controversy scenario between Christ and Satan?

A.

Here's the Scripture:

Q.

Why confuse people with a New Moon day that is barely mentioned in Scripture?

A.

Is it only barely mentioned?

Q.

The count to Pentecost disproves the Lunar Sabbath.

A.

The feast which is seven weeks after First Fruits is called the "Feast of Weeks" (Hebrew: Shavout) in 2 Chronicles 8:13. It is only called Pentecost, meaning "fifty", in Greek.

It is true that the simplest way is to do a count of 50 days straight. However, the text says that the feast is on the morrow after the seventh Sabbath. Only full weeks are counted; that is why it says "seven Sabbaths shall be complete".

The New Moon and Translation (30^th) Days are not part of the weeks - they are part of the month, specifically, the start and end. They are not part of the "weeks" which are 4 blocks of 7 days which end in Sabbaths.

Q.

There is no example of a Sabbath on the 29^th of the month.

A.

Not correct. While it is not obvious, there is a Scriptural example which describes the end of one month, and the beginning of another. It the story of Saul and his soldiers prophesying when Jonathan meets with David in the field. The day when all the prophesying is happening, and Saul is forced to rest, is the Sabbath, and is the 29^th of the month.

David talks about a two day New Moon festival, which will be on the 30^th, and the 1^st of the next month. The story is in 1 Samuel 19 and 20, and a full explanation appears elsewhere on this website.

Q.

Jesus Christ kept the Sabbath on the same day as the Jews and offered no correction or instruction as to the Sabbath being seven days after a new moon. As Lord of the Sabbath he confirmed the Jewish method by his use.

A.

The Messiah did not break the Sabbath. During the second temple period, the Sadducees were in charge of the services and they kept the Lunar calendar according to the Torah. So did the Messiah himself.

The Jews did not adopt the Roman system until after the year AD 350, when Rabbi Hillel ii and the Sanhedrin developed the "fixed" calendar. They did this in response to the persecution from Constantine, who in AD 325 influenced the Council of Nicaea to replace Passover with Easter. Since Passover is based on the Lunar calendar, but Sunday is not, this involved an entire calendar change. Constantine enforced his calendar upon the entire Roman Empire with military power.

Q.

The Gregorian calendar did not disrupt the weekly cycle in October, 1582, when Thursday, October 4^th was followed by Friday, October 15^th.

A.

This is absolutely correct. The Gregorian calendar faithfully preserved the weekly cycle. But that weekly cycle is not Biblical, being invented a just little over 1200 years before by Constantine. In AD 321, Constantine created a big compromise of Paganism, Judiasm, and Christianity. He blended the Hebrew idea of a seven day week with the Julian concept of a continuous weekly cycle, and added the veneration of the "Sun God" from Mithraism to create the familiar Roman calendar.