The Scriptural Calendar

There are many different theories and teachings going on as to what the Scriptural calendar is. All these theories even have names, like “the solar calendar”, “the lunar calendar”, “the Enoch calendar” etc. But there is only one calendar that is valid according to the Almighty and His followers. It does not have a specific name as it is the only calendar that is acceptable. We find it in the Torah.

So let us have a look at what the Scriptures and history teach us about the calendar.

Let us start with what determines the New Year.

In the beginning, the Almighty gave us a clue as to what we are going to need in order to understand the calendar, “And Elohim said, “Let lights come to be in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night, and let them be for signs and appointed times, and for days and years, and let them be for lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth.” And it came to be so. And Elohim made two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night, and the stars. And Elohim set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, and to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And Elohim saw that it was good” (Gen 1:14-18). The Sun and the Moon determine the calendar of the Almighty. The Moon is for determining the months and years, and the Sun is for determining the days and weeks. But I will be explaining this in more detail.

So let us see when the New Year begins. “And יהוה (YHWH) spoke to Mosheh and to Aharon in the land of Mitsrayim, saying, This month (chodesh) is the beginning (rosh) of months (chadashim) for you, it is the first month of the year for you” (Exodus 12:1-2). This verse teaches us what determines the start of a month. The Hebrew word “chodesh” is translated in every Bible as month. It is however more correctly translated as “renewal” and refers to the renewing of the moon (new moon). So the start of a new month is indicated by the sighting of the new moon.

But what determines the first month, or first new moon?

“Guard (shomer) the month (chodesh) of Aviv (young barley ears), and perform the Passover to יהוה (YHWH) your Elohim, for in the month of Aviv יהוה (YHWH) your Elohim brought you out of Mitsrayim (Egypt) by night” (Deut 16:1). The first month is the month of Aviv. We know this as the Passover is celebrated in this month. Now the word Aviv tells us when it should be. The Hebrew word “Aviv” means, “young barley ears” and is often translated as “springtime” in many Bibles.

So now we know that the new moon determines the start of a new month and that the first month is in the spring time. So when the barley ears are sighted (in Israel) then we know that the very next new moon is the start of the Scriptural New Year.

How do the months work?

We know now that the moon determines the months. If you start observing the new moon sightings, then you will notice that the months are either 29 days or 30 days long. A month can NEVER be 28 days or 31 days long. This is because the Moon cycle is exactly 29.53 days long. That means that the Moon takes exactly 29.53 days to make one complete cycle around the Earth. So if a month has been 29 days long and the new moon was not sighted, then we can know for sure that it WILL be seen the next day after the 30^th day, as it is impossible that the month could be 31 days long.

Now there are generally 12 months (or new moons) in a year. But there are also certain years that have 13 months (or new moons). One of the reasons that we know this to be true is simply by observing the Aviv (barley ears) as mentioned above.

We can also use science and mathematics to know that certain years are 13 months long. Let me explain. If we have to add up the all the days of each month for 12 months (29 or 30 days per month x 12 months) we get to the total of approximately 355 days for a year. You should by now notice that 355 days is about 10 days shorter than the solar cycle, which is the amount of time that it takes the Earth to complete one complete cycle around the Sun, which is approximately 365 days.

Now it does not take much to realize that we loose about 10 days every year to the cycle around the Sun. If we did not have a 13 month year at the right times, then all the seasons would go out of sync.

So when do we know when the 13^th month should be? Well, besides using the observance of the barley ears, we can once again use mathematics to work it out. We know that a month can either be 29 or 30 days long. We also know that we loose about 10 days a year to the solar cycle. Now let us use a simple calculation. 30 days divided by 10 days gives us the answer of three. So by every third year, we have lost approximately 30 days. So what happens then to make up this time? A thirteenth month (moon cycle) simply gets added to the year which brings the cycles back into sync again.

So there is and has always been a consecutive cycle of 2 years with 12 months and then 1 year with 13 months. It looks something like this, “12 12 13 12 12 13 12 12 13….”  Now this method and the observance of the barley ears are and have always worked together. They have never once, in the entire history of the World, not been in agreement.

One thing that I need to cover here, is that many people claim that the moon does not determine the months. They claim that the Hebrew word "chodesh", which literally means, "new" or "renewal" does not refer to the moon and that the months are determined by a solar cycle. Many get this idea from someone telling them that nowhere in the Scriptures is the moon related to the months. But this is simply not true, there are many places where the Hebrew word for moon (yarei'ach or yarach (which has exactly the same spelling)) is directly related to the monthly cycle.

Here are some of the references for you to look up for yourself:
Exo 2:2, Deut 21:13, Deut 33:14, 1 Kings 6:37, 1 Kings 8:2, 2 Kings 15:13, Zec 11:8, Job 3:6, Job 7:3, Job 39:2 and Psalm 104:19.

These Scriptural references also disprove any idea of a Solar Enoch calendar.

So now we know how the months and the years work and when the start of a new month and year are. Now all we need to do is find out how the days and weeks work.

When is the start of a new day?

“Therefore, since it was the Preparation Day, that the bodies should not remain on the stake on the Sabbath – for that Sabbath was a high one – the Yehuḏim (Pharisees) asked Pilate to have their legs broken, and that they be taken away” (John 19:31)

Y’hoshua was put on the torture stake during the day time, while the sun was shining. Why did the Yehudim (Pharisees) want to have their legs broken? Because it was the day before their “High Sabbath” and that the bodies should not remain on the stake on the Sabbath. Now they broke their legs so that they could die quicker, before sunset, as that is when the Sabbath begins! If the Sabbath only started at sunrise, then there would be no need to break their legs, as they would have had all night to die, which is more than enough time!

Here is just one of the many examples in the Scriptures and Brit Chadashah that shows us that the start of a new day is at the going down of the Sun. We can even see this to be true in the very beginning of the Scriptures.

“And Elohim called the light ‘day’ and the darkness He called ‘night.’ And there came to be evening and there came to be morning, the first day” (Gen 1:5). Notice here that the evening is mentioned before morning in regards to explaining the first day. If you read further, the same is true for all the days too.

Now many people will argue that the Hebrew word “yom” which means day, only refers to the day time, as in the time when the Sun is shining, and does not include the evening. This is not true. Although it does refer to the day time in many places it, however, does not refer to it all the time. The Hebrew word “yom” is used for 3 different purposes. Firstly it refers to the day time, secondly, it refers to a Scriptural day, which includes the evening (24 hours) and thirdly, it refers to a prophetic day. So the argument that when the Scriptures use the word “yom” that it is speaking only of the “day time” (12 hours) is not true and the person arguing this point does not have much knowledge in the Hebrew language or culture at all.

So what about the weeks and the Sabbath?

This is an interesting subject and there are many false teachings regarding this topic, so I am going to spend the most time here explaining to you what is right concerning this topic. The Christian church claims that the Sabbath is on the Sunday, but they admit that Sunday is the 1^st day and not the 7^th day, and that they moved it themselves. The other false teaching is that the new moon determines when the start of the new week is. This theory is called the lunar Sabbath theory.

Firstly, let us see what the Scriptures teach us about the week and the Sabbath. “Remember the Sabbath day, to set it apart. Six days you labour, and shall do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of יהוה (YHWH) your Elohim. You do not do any work – you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. For in six days יהוה (YHWH) made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore יהוה (YHWH) blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart” (Exodus 20:8-11). The only days spoken of are six days of work and a seventh day of rest.

Now there are many places throughout the Scriptures that teach us to keep the Seventh Day as a rest day (Sabbath). But can we prove, using only the Scriptures, which day is the seventh day, in our modern time? It is actually impossible to do so. But then, how can we know for sure which day is the correct Seventh Day, or the correct Sabbath?

For us to know what the correct day is to keep the Sabbath, then we need to not only use the Scriptures, but also historic evidence too. We do not need to go any further back from the time of the Messiah (about 2000 years ago). There is so much evidence available that proves, without a doubt, which day is the Sabbath day. If we know when the Sabbath day is, then we know when all the other days of the week are.

Now the Messiah Yehoshua kept the same Sabbath as the rest of the Jews. This means that even the Pharisees kept the same day as the day of rest as the Messiah did. In fact, there is not one Jewish or Hebrew group that disagrees on when the Sabbath is to be kept, and there are no records of them ever disagreeing on this subject. We can see from Scripture that the Messiah did in fact keep the same Sabbath day as the rest of the Jews, “So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read” (Luke 4:16)

We also know that the Apostles and even Paul himself kept the same Sabbath as the rest of the Jews, “Then Paul, as his custom was, went in to them, and for three Sabbaths reasoned with them from the Scriptures” (Acts 17:2)

So the question is then, whether or not there are any first century eyewitnesses that may enlighten us as to when the Jews of that time kept the Sabbath. To find a clear answer to this question, we will examine the various Roman Historians and writers of that period.

The truth is that Jews didn't want the Set-Apart Sabbath to be associated with "Saturn," an idol that had nothing to do with Judaism. The name "Saturday/Day of Saturn" originated with the pagans, not with the Jews. The Jews repeatedly and unequivocally refer to the seventh day of the week as "the Sabbath." 

Examining the records of Roman historians and other writers can be helpful in determining when the Sabbath was kept and is still to be kept today.

For this reason, we can look into the writings of Roman historians and other writers to see if the Romans associated the Jewish Sabbath with their "Saturday/Day of Saturn." If they did associate the Sabbath with their Day of Saturn in the first century or before, this would be undeniable evidence that the Jewish week and the Roman week were both kept on the same recurring weekly cycle.  

As we will see in this section, there is no doubt that Roman historians and other writers explicitly and repeatedly consider the timing of Jewish Sabbath keeping to be linked with the seventh day of the Roman week, which was a repeating seven day cycle, independent of the moon phases. 

70 - 84 CE (AD)

Frontinus, a Roman Soldier who lived from c. 40 CE to 103 CE, wrote book on military strategy called Strategematicon in 84 A.D. In it, he writes:

"The deified Augustus Vespasian attacked the Jews on the day of Saturn, a day on which it is sinful for them to do any business." Frontinus Stratagem 2.1.17.  

The original Latin version of this book has "Saturnis" for Saturn, confirming that the Romans associated the Sabbath day with their "day of Saturn" which is on the seventh day of the week. 

Since this book was written a mere 14 years after Vespasian's (Titus') destruction of Jerusalem, this is obviously very strong historical evidence directly from a first century eyewitness, tying in the Sabbath with the recurring seven day cycle of the Romans.

63 BCE - 229 CE

Cassius Dio, a Roman Historian who lived from ca. 155 to 229 CE, using the historical annals of the Roman empire, wrote about 3 battles which the Roman empire had with the Jews. 

The first battle was during a time when the Hyrcanus II and Aristobulus II, two brothers who were the offspring of the Maccabees, were engaged in a dispute over who would rule. The Romans, through the actions of Pompey, came in and settled the dispute, siding with Hyrcanus. While speaking of Pompey's battle, the Sabbath is mentioned.

The setting is 63 BCE: 
"Most of the city, to be sure, he took without any trouble, as he was received by the party of Hyrcanus; but the temple itself, which the other party had occupied, he captured only with difficulty.
For it was on high ground and was fortified by a wall of its own, and if they had continued defending it on all days alike, he could not have got possession of it. 
As it was, they made an excavation of what are called the days of Saturn, and by doing no work at all on those days afforded the Romans an opportunity in this interval to batter down the wall.
The latter, on learning of this superstitious awe of theirs, made no serious attempts the rest of the time, but on those days, when they came round in succession, assaulted most vigorously. 
Thus the defenders were captured on the day of Saturn, without making any defense, and all the wealth was plundered.
The kingdom was given to Hyrcanus, and Aristobulus was carried away." Cassius Dio Roman History 37.16.1-4 

So the Romans took advantage of the fact that the Jews would not work on the Sabbath. When was the Sabbath? Again, the weekly Sabbath coincides with the Roman "day of Saturn." 

The second battle listed by Cassius Dio occurred in 36 BCE, is the one that resulted in the very first King Herod coming to power: 

"The Jews, indeed, had done much injury to the Romans, but they suffered far more themselves.
The first of them to be captured were those who were fighting for the precinct of their god, and then the rest on the day even then called the day of Saturn.
And so excessive were they in their devotion to religion that the first set of prisoners, those who had been captured along with the temple, obtained leave from Sosius, when the day of Saturn came round again, and went up into the temple and there performed all the customary rites, together with the rest of the people.
These people Antony entrusted to a certain Herod to govern; but Antigonus he bound to a cross and flogged,— a punishment no other king had suffered at the hands of the Romans,— and afterwards slew him." Cassius Dio Roman History 49.22.4-6

Note that Cassius Dio reports the Jews as keeping "customary rites" at the temple on "the day even then called Day of Saturn." This indicates that the Sabbath wasn't only called the "Day of Saturn" during his lifetime, but it was called the "Day of Saturn" back in 36 BCE, well before Yehoshua was born in Bethlehem.

Next, he records that the 70 CE Jerusalem destruction was on the Sabbath, which he once again calls the "day of Saturn:" 

70 - 229 CE

Thus was Jerusalem destroyed on the very day of Saturn, the day which even now the Jews reverence most.
From that time forth it was ordered that the Jews who continued to observe their ancestral customs should pay an annual tribute of two denarii to Jupiter Capitoline.
In consequence of this success both generals received the title of imperator, but neither got that of Judaïcus, although all the other honours that were fitting on the occasion of so magnificent a victory, including triumphal arches, were voted to them. Cassius Dio Roman History 65.7.2

So his report is that the Jews kept the Sabbath on the "day of Saturn" from 63 BCE up until his day, no later than 229 CE. His report also agrees with Frontinus' account of the 70 CE battle. 

c. 100 CE

The Historian Cornelius Tacitus (ca. 56CE – ca. 117CE), after suggesting that Jews kept the Sabbath out of laziness, also associated the Sabbath with the Roman idol, Saturn: 

They are said to have devoted the seventh day to rest, because that day brought an end to their troubles. Later, finding idleness alluring, they gave up the seventh year as well to sloth. 
Others maintain that they do this in honor of Saturn; either because their religious principles are derived from the Idaei, who are supposed to have been driven out with Saturn and become the ancestors of the Jewish people; or else because, of the seven constellations which govern the lives of men, the star of Saturn moves in the topmost orbit and exercises peculiar influence, and also because most of the heavenly bodies move round their courses in multiples of seven. From The Histories, Book V

Again, the fact that a pagan associated Sabbath keeping with Saturn demonstrates that the Roman week's day of Saturn (Satur-day) was concurrent with what the Almighty calls the Sabbath day. Tacitus is an eyewitness from the first century who has no "axe to grind" in regards to when the Sabbath should be observed. He wrote this a mere 30 years after the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem.  

So we can clearly see that the same Sabbath that the Messiah kept is associated with the “day of Saturn” or Saturday. This does in no way mean that we keep a Saturday Sabbath, but rather that the Roman Saturday falls on the same day as the Scriptural Sabbath.

Now that we know that Yehoshua the Messiah kept the Sabbath on the same day as the Pharisees and the rest of the Jewish people. History proves to us that the Jews of today keep the exact same 7^th day Sabbath as the Messiah did 2000 years ago. To think otherwise is evil and is ignoring these proofs.

You see, all Jewish people, even many who did not learn of other calendars, who were scattered all around the world, ALL agreed on when the Sabbath was when they eventually were able to make contact with other Jews because of the advance of technology. There were none that disagreed on when the Sabbath was.

Another source that we can use is that of the Muslim calendar, which is about 3,000 years old, where they faithfully kept the day before the Sabbath as their "holy day", and look, what day do they keep today? It is still the same today as it was 3,000 years ago.

And lastly, we have the faithful Christian (Roman) calendar that has preserved the weekly cycle from the time of the Messiah up until this very day.

I truly hope this helps those who are new to this and found this article to be of use. I also hope that it opens the eyes of those who were deceived by the many false teaching that are floating around.

Shalom to all who read this

Chag Shavuot proves that the Lunar Sabbath is false

I have been debating many of the people who follow the Lunar Sabbath theory and have not gotten one piece of evidence from them to even consider the Lunar Sabbath to be true. The best argument I have seen from them so far is that of the counting of the “Omer” to the Feast of Weeks or “Chag Shavuot”. Let me explain to you how they see it, and then I will show you why their theory is totally incorrect.

The Lunar Sabbatarians count to Shavuot

They claim that in order to work out when Shavuot is, you need to observe 7 complete Sabbaths, and then the day after the 7^th Sabbath, then you start counting 50 days. (and yes, they really do believe this). The only reason these people come to such a conclusion is because their false doctrine of the moon phase determining the Sabbath, does not work out according to the Scriptural requirements, so they have to create their own requirements in order to believe the lie. (which is not found in the Torah at all)


To justify this false doctrine, they even go as far as to say that Shavuot was when Mosheh came down from the mountain with the tablets where the Ten Commandments were written on by Elohim Himself. They also say this is when Aaron declared a festival on that day. All this falls in the 4^th moon (or month). Keep this in mind as I will be explaining the truth about this further down in this article.

Please also note that this is one of the many views within the lunar sabbath community. There is certainly no cosistancy in this false doctrine as none of them can agree on many points, they are all trying to defend their belief without any facts. That is why they all have very different oppinions. 

As soon as you accept the true Scriptural calendar, then there are no inconsistancies or disagreements among its followers as it is very plain and easy to understand.

Now let us see what the real count to Shavuot is

To get a good idea of what and when Shavuot is, we need to look at the Hebrew meaning of the word, and also learn what Shavuot is all about. When we put these ‘clues’ together, you will see that the Lunar Sabbath is so silly and the people who follow it do not follow what the Torah of YHWH teaches, but are disobedient to the Word of YHWH.

Let us have a look at what Shavuot represents. We need to go to the Scriptures to learn about this as the Scriptures are the ultimate authority as it is the Word of the Almighty.

“And from the morrow after the Sabbath (That falls within the feast of unleavened bread Matzot), from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering, you shall count for yourselves: seven completed Sabbaths. Until the morrow after the seventh Sabbath you count fifty days, then you shall bring a new grain offering to יהוה (YHWH)” (Lev 23:15-16)

Here we can see exactly when Shavuot is. As it clearly states that the count of fifty days will be completed at the day after the seventh Sabbath, we have to read this with a Hebrew mindset and not an English mindset, a native Hebrew will always read it this way as it is a Hebrew idiomatic phrase. We can even see this from the actual word Shavuot (Z«R§A¡[). This word is a plural word for shavua, which means “week”. It also comes from the root word “sheva” which means “seven” and “oath”. So here we can see that Shavuot comes from the word “seven” and “week” meaning that the count to Shavuot is a count of 7 weeks of 7 days each which is an oath given to us from YHWH Himself, just like the Scriptures teach us. Then the Torah goes on to teach us that Shavuot is on the day after the seventh Sabbath which MUST be the total of a 50 day count. (This is common Hebrew thought and understanding).

But let us do the maths quickly

7 days x 7 weeks = 49 days + the day after the 7^th Sabbath = 50 days.

Hey, this works out 100% according to how the Torah teaches us to work out when Shavuot is, EVERY SINGLE TIME.  Now the maths for the lunar Sabbath will never work out this way.

Let us do the maths for the lunar Sabbath.

7 days x 7 weeks = 49 days + day after 7^th sabbath + new moon day + conjunction day = 52 days + another 50 days = 102 days. (Even if you do not add the extra 50 days, it still does not add up to 50 days)

This just does not work out according to the requirement of the Torah. (This alone should be proof that the lunar Sabbath is totally false)

Let us look at another point of view, “In the third month after the children of Yisraĕl had come out of the land of Mitsrayim, on this day they came to the Wilderness of Sinai” (Exodus 19:1). Here we can see, if we read further, that the Ten Words (Commandments) were given during this month. Notice here that it was in the third month, that the ‘Torah’ was given to the Israelites. Here the Ten Commandments were spoken the men of Yisra’el directly from YHWH Himself. All the men of Yisra’el heard the voice of YHWH as he spoke these words to them.

Now I have had one of the lunar Sabbath followers ask me where it is written that the giving of the Torah is connected to Shavuot? Really? No wonder these people follow such silly false teachings, because they do not have any knowledge of the Torah whatsoever.

If Shavuot is not about the giving of the Torah (Ten Words) to the Israelites, then what is it about? What Jewish sect, or Torah followers do not read Exodus 19-20 on Shavuot? Even the other lunar Sabbath guys proclaim this (There is no unity within this false teaching as it is one big confusing mess).

Well, it is just a few ignorant people within the lunar Sabbath sect that believe this. The rest believe that Shavuot is calculated as 7 complete Sabbaths plus an extra 50 days. They say that Shavuot must fall in the 4^th moon (or month) as that is when Mosheh came down from the mountain with the Tablets where the Ten Commandments were written on. They also say this is when Aaron declared a festival for the people of Yisra’el. But let us examine this in a little more detail.

What really happened on that day when Mosheh came down from the mountain with the Tablets of stone in his hands? And what feast did Aaron declare at that time? Once we learn these things, we can see exactly who the lunar Sabbath people are following and what feasts they keep.

We can find al these things in Sh’mot (Exodus) 32, let us read together, “And when the people saw that Mosheh was so long in coming down from the mountain, the people gathered together to Aaron, and said to him, “Arise, make us mighty ones who go before us. For this Mosheh, the man who brought us up out of the land of Mitsrayim, we do not know what has become of him.” And Aaron said to them, “Take off the golden earrings which are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.”

 “And all the people took off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them to Aaron. And he took this from their hand, and he formed it with an engraving tool, and made a moulded calf. And they said, “This is your mighty one, O Yisra’ĕl, that brought you out of the land of Mitsrayim!” (Exodus 32:1-4)

Here we can see that Aaron made a golden calf for the nation of Yisra’el to worship. Let us read further, “And Aaron saw and built an altar before it. And Aaron called out and said, “Tomorrow is a festival to יהוה (YHWH).” And they rose early on the next day, and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings. And the people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play” (Exodus 32:5-6)

Aaron went as far as to call the golden calf by the Name of YHWH, and declared a festival in honor of the golden calf. What do you think YHWH thought of this what the people had done? Let us see, “And יהוה (YHWH) said to Mosheh, “Go, get down! For your people whom you brought out of the land of Mitsrayim (Egypt) have corrupted themselves. “They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them. They have made themselves a moulded calf, and have bowed themselves to it and slaughtered to it, and said, ‘This is your mighty one, O Yisra’ĕl, who brought you out of the land of Mitsrayim (Egypt)!” (Exodus 32:7-8)

So the people who were feasting were those that corrupted themselves and followed after things that the Almighty specifically told them not to do. YHWH even wanted to destroy them completely, but Mosheh convinced Him not to do so (Exodus 32:10-14).

Now when Mosheh came down from the mountain with the two Tablets of stone, where the Ten Commandments were written, did he give them to Yisra’el, did Yisra’el receive the Torah on this day, as the lunar Sabbath people claim? Let us see what the Torah teaches us about that, “And Mosheh turned and went down from the mountain, and in his hand were the two tablets of the Witness, tablets written on both their sides, written on the one and on the other. And the tablets were the work of Elohim, and the writing was the writing of Elohim engraved on the tablets” (Exodus 32:15-16). So Mosheh did have the Tablets of the Commandments with him. Let us read further.

“And it came to be, as soon as he came near the camp, that he saw the calf and the dancing. And Mosheh’s displeasure burned, and he threw the tablets out of his hands and broke them at the foot of the mountain” (Exodus 32:19). So as you can see, Mosheh was furious with the people and threw down the Tablets and broke them. So did Yisra’el receive the Torah or the Ten Commandments on this 4^th month festival? Definitely not, and did this festival honor YHWH, the true Elohim? Definitely not, it was in honor of a pagan golden calf.

If you read on, you will see that Mosheh destroyed the golden calf, ground it up, threw it into the water and made the people drink the water. He also commanded the death of about three thousand men that day.

Now we know that Shavuot is in the 3^rd month (moon), and NOT in the 4^th month, so let us do the maths again. Let us say that the start of the count is from the middle of chag Matzot (the Feast of unleaven bread) the 18 Aviv (first month).

(click here to see when the start of the count to Shavuot begins)

18^th of the first month + 30 days = 18^th of second month + 20 days = 7^th or 8^th of the THIRD MONTH. (30 +20 = 50)

Hey look…. Once again, we have a perfect calculation according to the requirements of the Torah for when Shavuot is. Can we get to this Torah requirement by using the lunar Sabbath calculation? Well let us do the maths and see where we land up.

18^th of the first month + 30 days = 18^th of second month + 22 days = 9^th or 10^th of the third month + 50 more days = 28^th or 29^th of the Fourth month or the 1^st of the Fifth month (and could even be later if the conditions allow)

Oops, once again, this does not meet the Torah’s requirement at all. How can anyone who claims to follow the Torah, continue to follow the false lunar Sabbath that does not meet any of the Torah’s requirements? Only those who do not have a love for the truth will follow the lunar Sabbath.

So how is the Sabbath worked out?

The week is a continual cycle of 7 days without any interruptions like “new moon days” we can know this just by the Hebrew word for week, which is “shavua”, and its root word is “sheva” which just happens to be seven. The root word for Shabbat is also “sheva” proclaiming the 7^th day of the week to be the Sabbath. “Sheva” also has the meaning of “oath” proclaiming the Sabbath to be an oath between YHWH and those who keep His 7^th day Sabbath.

Now for another nail in the coffin for the lunar Sabbath

We read in Exodus 23:10-12 that the Sabbath of the land is a continual cycle of 7 years where there are 6 years of sowing and gathering the produce of the land and the 7^th year is the Sabbatical (Sabbath year) where the land rests. This is the exact same model given to us for the weekly Sabbath. Now it is clear that the Sabbatical year is not governed by any moon cycle, but is governed by 1 day representing 1 year.

So if there is no new moon “year” or conjunction “year” then how is it possible that there is one for the weekly Sabbath? YHWH is constant and keeps to the same models and instruction as a remembrance of His work of Creation.

Now the Jubilee year is calculated with the same model as used for Shavuot. The day after the 7^th Sabbatical year is the Jubilee which occurs every 50 years 7 x 7 years = 49 years +1 year = 50 years. Wow… The Almighty gave us such absolute evidence and cycles using the same models as the other created cycles to show us what the absolute truth is.

Let us look at some Historical Data 

Historical information can be helpful if we are trying to discern the truth of something that doesn't seem very clear to us from scripture. Although I believe the scriptures speak clearly about the seventh day Sabbath always occurring every seventh day, referencing historical works may be helpful for some who are not yet convinced. 

Lunar Sabbath keepers love to quote from a few Encyclopedic references which say that the week was originally tied to the lunar cycle. If we rely on such Encyclopedias to tell us about historical data, we might indeed wonder if the moon had something to do with setting the weeks. 

When researching this topic historically, we don't need to go any further in history than the time period that Yehoshua the Messiah was born into. We do know that He kept the Sabbath day and we know that He kept it on the same day as the rest of the Jews in His day. For example: 

“So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read” (Luke 4:16)

The first century disciples also did the same:

“Then Paul, as his custom was, went in to them, and for three Sabbaths reasoned with them from the Scriptures” (Acts 17:2)

So, for me the question is whether or not there are any first century eyewitnesses that may enlighten us as to whether the Jews of that time kept the Sabbath by the moon, or by a recurring seven day week. 

Can we find a clear answer to this question? Absolutely. 

To find a clear answer to this question, we will examine the Talmud, the Dead Sea Scrolls and Josephus

1. The Talmud

First of all, please understand that I do not believe in following the Talmud or looking at it as being authoritative for doctrine 

I'm not going to be using it for the purposes of telling anyone how or when to keep the Sabbath, except that we can know that the Messiah was in agreement with the weekly Sabbath of 1st century Judaism. Therefore, we will only use the Talmud to help us understand what views of 1st and 2nd century Judaism actually were. 

The Talmud is a pretty good source because although it was compiled about 130 years after the destruction of the temple and Jerusalem, parts of it act as a historical reference for things that were going on when the temple was still standing. 

The Talmud is composed of three parts. There is the Mishnah, which is the central focal point of the whole Talmud. There is the Gemara, which is a commentary on the Mishnah. Then there is Rashi's commentary on both. 

The Mishnah simply records the beliefs of 1st century Judaism. It speaks often about the views of two Jewish scholars called Shammai and Hillel. They were leaders of two (often opposing) schools of thought, called "houses." Hillel and Shammai lived from c. 50 BCE to 50 CE so they were alive during Yehoshua's ministry on the earth.

The Talmud records some 300+ differences of opinion between both houses. In Judaism, the views of the house of Hillel (Beth Hillel) usually prevailed over the views of the house of Shammai (Beth Shammai). 

As you will see, the Talmud is pretty clear that the Lunar Sabbath was not observed by Beth Hillel, Beth Shammai, or any Jewish man living in the first century. 

(please keep in mind that the lunar sabbatarians very often, try use the writings of Hillel to support the false theory of the lunar Sabbath. They have to twist his writings and use them out of context in order to do so)

In our first example, we will examine a difference of opinion between Hillel and Shammai on what blessing needed to be recited if the "new moon falls on a Sabbath." 

"R. Zera replied: The New Moon is different from a festival - Since its mention is included in the benediction on the sanctity of the day in the morning and evening prayers it is also included in that of the additional prayer. But do Beth Shammai uphold the view that the mention of the New Moon is to be included? Was it not in fact taught: If a New Moon falls on a Sabbath, Beth Shammai ruled: One recites in his additional prayer eight benedictions and Beth Hillel ruled: Seven? This is indeed a difficulty." Talmud - Mas. Eiruvin 40b

Of course, if they were keeping the Lunar Sabbath, the New Moon can never fall on a Sabbath because the Lunar Sabbath is never on the first day of the month. This difference of opinion wouldn't have been recorded if they kept the Lunar Sabbath. 

Next, we will see that the Mishnah records what the first century temple priests did with the non-meat portions of the Passover Lamb:

"Mishnah. The bones, and the sinews, and the nothar of the paschal lamb are to be burnt on the sixteenth. If the sixteenth falls on the Sabbath, they are to be burnt on the seventeenth, because they do not override either the Sabbath or the festival." Talmud - Pesachim 83a

With the Lunar Sabbath, there is no such thing as the sixteenth day of the month falling on the Sabbath. These are not men who are trying to figure out how to fit a weekly Sabbath into Babylonian life, it is a reference to the acts of first century priests who certainly did not keep the Lunar Sabbath. These are the practices observed during the temple era when Yehoshua and His disciples lived. 

The Mishnah also recorded the following rule regarding the meal offerings:

"Mishnah. A man may offer a meal-offering consisting of sixty tenths and bring them in one vessel if a man said, I take upon myself to offer sixty tenths, he may bring them in one vessel. But if he said, I take upon myself to offer sixty-one tenths, he must bring sixty in one vessel and the one in another vessel; for since the congregation bring on the first day of the feast of tabernacles when it falls on a Sabbath sixty-one tenths as a meal-offering, it is enough for an individual that his meal-offering be less by one tenth than that of the congregation." Talmud - Menachoth 103b

Obviously, this is a record of what went on while the temple was still standing because after that time, there would be no place to take it. With a Lunar Sabbath, there is never a time when the first day of the feast of Tabernacles falls on any day other than the Sabbath (15th day of the seventh month). 

Obviously, the recorded practices of first century Judaism while the temple still stood indicate that they did not keep a Lunar Sabbath. They kept the Sabbath on a recurring, seven day week just as it is given in Genesis chapter 1, independent of the moon cycle. Therefore, since Yehoshua kept the Sabbath along with the rest of the Jews of that period, He did not participate in a Lunar Sabbath, a doctrine that doesn't appear to exist in Judaism at that time.

I should also mention that if you ever read the Talmud in depth, you will come away with one clear impression: They debated about almost everything. Something as major as a change in when the Sabbath is observed ought to have been at least debated somewhere. After all, they debated every little fine point of the law! The lack of such a debate speaks volumes.

2. The Dead Sea Scrolls and Josephus

The Dead Sea Scrolls are considered by scholars to be authored by the Essenes, a sect in first century Judaism. In the Dead Sea Scrolls, there are a number of extra-biblical scrolls which appear to shed light on what this sect believed and practiced. Understanding what they believed can be helpful in determining whether or not the Lunar Sabbath was being observed by mainstream Judaism of that time.

It is generally undisputed (even by Lunar Sabbatarians) that the authors of these scrolls did not keep a Lunar Sabbath. Rather, the Calendrical scroll shows that they observed a recurring seven day weekly cycle, independent of the moon phases. I know of no one who disputes this. The Calendrical Scroll and the Songs of the Sabbath Sacrifice confirms this.

Of course, Lunar Sabbatarians generally will teach that this Jewish sect was wrong about the Sabbath.

But in the book of Josephus, he speaks much about the Essenes. Josephus was a first century Jewish historian who wrote much about life in Judea during the first century. He goes into great detail as to how practices of the Essenes were different than others. He mentions everything from how the Essenes don't carry anything with them when they travel, to how they regard oil to be defilement. In Wars of the Jews 2:119-161, Josephus speaks of them in no less than 2000 words, describing over 100 characteristics of their way of life. 

So did Josephus mention that they kept the Sabbath on a day that was different than the rest of Judaism?

“… Moreover, they are stricter than any other of the Jews in resting from their labors on the seventh day; for they not only get their food ready the day before, that they may not be obliged to kindle a fire on that day, but they will not move any vessel out of its place, nor go to stool thereon” (Wars of the Jews 2:147)

In this, Josephus even goes so far as to say that the Essenes are "stricter than any other of the Jews in resting from their labors on the seventh day." Does it sound like there was any disagreement as to when the Sabbath was? Wouldn't it seem strange that Josephus would mention that the Essenes were stricter in their resting from labors on the Sabbath but not bother to mention that the Essenes held the Sabbath on a totally different day than the other Jews of that period? 

The fact is, if the Essenes were keeping a different day than the rest of Judaism, Josephus wouldn't have been able to say that they were even resting on the seventh day to begin with. He would have to say they were typically resting on some other day. 

There is no record in the Dead Sea Scrolls of the Essenes disagreeing with other groups as to when the Sabbath was. In fact, there is no historical record of any Jewish sects disagreeing with each other on when the Sabbath was.  

In another interesting note, Josephus speaks of one of the large towers that were built in Jerusalem:

“and the last was erected above the top of the Pastophoria, where one of the priests stood of course, and gave a signal beforehand with a trumpet, at the beginning of every seventh day, in the evening twilight, as also at the evening when that day was finished, as giving notice to the people when they were to stop work, and when they were to go to work again” (Wars of the Jews 4:582)

So his report is that a trumpet was blown at the beginning of every seventh day, to mark when the people should stop working, and begin working. As an interesting side note, archaeological finds concur with Josephus' comments about the place of trumpeting:

"When we excavated the beautifully paved Herodian street adjacent to the southern wall and near the southwestern corner of the Enclosure Wall, we found a particularly large ashlar block. On the inside was a niche where a man might stand, especially if the ashlar were joined to another which would enlarge the niche.
On the outside was a carefully and elegantly incised Hebrew inscription: LBYT HTKY ’H LHH [RYZ]; “To the place of Trumpeting to (declare).” If the restoration of the world “declare” is correct, the rest of the missing part of the inscription probably went on to tell us more about the declaring of the beginning and the end of the Sabbath.
The stone had been toppled during the Roman destruction of the Temple onto the street below where it had lain for nearly two thousand years until we uncovered it.
It must have originally come from the pinnacle of the southwestern corner of the Temple Mount. From a spot on top of the Temple chambers a priest would blow a trumpet on Sabbath Eve, to announce the arrival of the Sabbath and the cessation of all labour, and to announce, on the following evening, the departure of the Sabbath and the resumption of all labor.
The entire city was visible from this spot on the southwest corner of the Temple Mount; the clarion call of the trumpet would reach the farthest markets of the city. Such a scene is recounted by Josephus in his work, The Jewish War. (IV, 582)." Editor, H. S. 2004; 2004. BAR 06:04 (July/Aug 1980)” Biblical Archaeology Society

Josephus also records that Agatharchides, a 2nd century BCE Greek Historian, wrote something quite interesting about Ptolemy's defeat of Jerusalem:

"When Agatharchides had premised this story, and had jested upon Stratonice for her superstition, he gives a like example of what was reported concerning us, and writes thus:--
209 ``There are a people called Jews, and dwell in a city the strongest of all other cities, which the inhabitants call Jerusalem, and are accustomed to rest on every seventh day; on which times they make no use of their arms, nor meddle with husbandry, nor take care of any affairs of life, but spread out their hands in their holy places, and pray till the evening.
210 Now it came to pass, that when Ptolemy, the son of Lagus, came into this city with his army, that these men, in observing this mad custom of theirs, instead of guarding the city, suffered their country to submit itself to a bitter lord; and their law was openly proven to have commanded a foolish practice" (Against Apion 1:208)

Ptolemy was the General of Alexander the Great, who took over Jerusalem in 332 BCE. We see that the Jews would not defend themselves or take up arms on the Sabbath, which was "every seventh day." 

If I were to describe the Sabbath keeping practices of Lunar Sabbatarians, I certainly wouldn't describe their Sabbath keeping as something they did "every seventh day." Rather, I would mention that they only keep a Sabbath on certain days of the month. Therefore, it's quite evident that Josephus was describing the practice laid out for us "in the beginning" when Elohim created the first week and that is to rest every seventh day, without moon interruptions.

Conclusion

There is no indication whatsoever in the entire Scriptures that the week is not a continual cycle of seven days, and every appointed time works out 100% according to the Torah using the continual cycle of seven days.

If you follow the lunar Sabbath, then you are not keeping YHWH’s Sabbath and therefore you are not one of His people. The Sabbath is a sign between the Almighty and His people.

In fact, if you follow the lunar Sabbath, you are worshiping the golden calf, and just as Mosheh broke the Tablets of the Ten Commandments because of idolatry, so too are the lunar Sabbath people breaking the Torah of YHWH by their idolatrous festivals. You see, the festival that the lunar Sabbath people celebrate is the festival that Aaron declared for the golden calf in the 4^th month (moon), and not the festival of Shavuot.

Whoever teaches that the festival in the 4^th month is Shavuot is totally ignorant of the Torah or is just a straight out liar seeking a following. These people are not to be trusted as you can see for yourself that the Torah proves them to be liars.

I will continue to say that the lunar Sabbath teachers are idiots and liars and do not know the Torah of YHWH and should have their mouths shut. And all those who follow these people are those who do not study the Torah for themselves.

To truly have a relationship with the Almighty, you cannot follow the lunar Sabbath as it is breaking His Torah and following after other mighty ones.

You can read more about the lunar Sabbath on the following two links:

false-doctrine-no2-when-is-sabbath

lunar-sabbath-doctrine-is-stupid

Lunar-Sabbath doctrine is stupid!

When someone says ‘keep an open mind about it’ to an avid Torah student, then you can almost be sure that what he is talking about, or trying to reveal, is probably man-made rubbish. This seems to be the case when I was told to keep an open mind about the stupid lunar Sabbath doctrine (Yes I said it is stupid because that is exactly what it is!). Are we not to follow truth and fact rather than opinions?

These people claim that there is 1900 different documents proving the lunar sabbath and zero proving the 7 day weekly cycle where the 7^th day is the Sabbath (by the way, this statement is utter rubbish!). Well , if these people make this claim, then they certainly have never ever read the Word of YHWH before!  Another thing is that they make claims about 1900 documents proving that the Sabbath is determined by the moon cycle, but these people have not been able to produce even one of these so called documents!

Now, if I was confronted with even a million documents speaking of a certain teaching, but the Torah of YHWH says otherwise, who am I going to believe or follow? The million other documents, or the Word of YHWH? I think that this is a no-brainer, I will always choose the Word of the Creator who’s wisdom is greater than everyone and everything! That means that any document that contradicts the Word of YHWH is a false document and the source, or writer, is a liar. Even if a million other people agree with that false document, it still stays false.

Also notice that we are to test everything according to the Torah of YHWH to see if it is right or wrong, just as the Berean’s did when Shaul taught them. They did not just accept the teachings of Shaul, but tested it according to the Torah and the prophets before they accepted his word. Notice that they were noble for doing so.

So let us examine the Torah of YHWH to see if the lunar-sabbath is sound doctrine, or if the 7’th day weekly Sabbath is the Sabbath of YHWH.

Let us start from the beginning:

“Thus the heavens and the earth were completed, and all their array (If you read, chapter 1, you will see that His work was done in six days). And on the seventh day Elohim completed His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had made. And Elohim blessed the seventh day and set it apart, because on it He rested from all His work which Elohim in creating had made” (Gen 2:1-3).
Now does this section of Scripture ever say anything about the moon phase concerning the Sabbath? Certainly not! In fact, there is no mention of the moon determining the Sabbath throughout the entire Scriptures, as we will see further.

What about when the Israelites had to gather manah for food?

“And it came to be, on the sixth day, that they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for each one. And all the rulers of the congregation came and told Mosheh. And he said to them, “This is what יהוה (YHWH) has said, ‘Tomorrow is a rest, a Sabbath set-apart to יהוה (YHWH). That which you bake, bake; and that which you cook, cook. And lay up for yourselves all that is left over, to keep it until morning.’ ” And they laid it up till morning, as Mosheh commanded. And it did not stink, and no worm was in it. And Mosheh said, “Eat it today, for today is a Sabbath to יהוה (YHWH), today you do not find it in the field. “Gather it six days, but on the seventh day, which is the Sabbath, there is none.” (Exodus 16:22-26). Ask yourself again… Is there any mention of the moon here? Or are they to gather the bread for six days, where on the sixth day (preparation day) they gather a double portion, and rest on the Sabbath? Then the cycle begins again!!! I am sure that even the very young children could count to 6 and 7, don’t you?

Now what do the Ten Commandments say about the Sabbath?

“Remember the Sabbath day, to set it apart. “Six days you labour, and shall do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of יהוה (YHWH) your Elohim. You do not do any work – you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. “For in six days יהוה (YHWH) made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore יהוה (YHWH) blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart” (Exodus 20:8-11). Where is the mention of the moon here? If it was so important, I am sure YHWH would have given the instruction to follow the Sabbath according to the moon phase. BUT HE DIDN’T!!! What then did YHWH say? Count six days, which will be the days that you work, and the seventh day you will rest (cease)!

Where does the New Moon day come into all of this, as the lunar-sabbatarians teach? They say that the New Moon day is not counted as a week day! WHAT… that is the most nonsensical thing I have ever heard! If it were true (which it is not), were the Israelites to gather their daily bread on that day too? Then it would not be six days gathering, but rather seven days of gathering (which is NOT what YHWH said and told Mosheh to tell the people!!!). And if they were to rest on that day, would it not have been, rest on the seventh day and the first day too? This is just utter rubbish and not supported by the Word of YHWH!

The more I study the Torah of YHWH, the more absurd the lunar-sabbath doctrine looks!

Shavuot disproves the lunar-sabbath without a doubt!

YHWH probably anticipated (well, He is all knowing) that there were going to be people, in the last days, that would try and deceive the weak into believing the totally false doctrine of the lunar-sabbath. That is why YHWH created the counting of the omer, which completely destroys the false lunar-sabbath doctrine. Let us have a look.

“And from the morrow after the Sabbath, from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering, you shall count for yourselves: seven completed Sabbaths.  Until the morrow after the seventh Sabbath you count fifty days, then you shall bring a new grain offering to יהוה (YHWH)” (Lev 23:15-16).
Now as you can see, that from the day after the weekly Sabbath that falls within chag Matzot (feast of unleavened bread), that you count 7 complete Sabbaths, and then the day after the 7^th Sabbath will be chag Shavuot (feast of weeks). Notice that this count MUST add up to fifty days. Now with the Scriptural 7 day weekly cycle, there are no issues and the count ALWAYS adds up to fifty as required by Torah.

But using the absurd lunar-sabbath, too many issues arise. Now I consider myself to be quite a maths boffin and love doing problem solving. I have spent a lot of time and tried, in many ways, to get the count to Shavuot to be fifty days, using the false lunar-sabbath doctrine. It is just impossible as it has extra days that they claim to not count as week days, but they are days that have to be counted. You see… the lunar-sabbath is utter rubbish and does not fit the requirements of the Torah in any way!

Using the Gregorian calendar to prove when the Sabbath of YHWH is to be kept

Let us now use the pagan Gregorian calendar as a historic witness to when the Sabbath is to be kept. Please note that we do not in any way follow the Gregorian calendar, but are merely using it as a witness to historic events!

Now one thing to remember is that in the days of Yehoshua the Messiah (who kept the correct Sabbath of His Father), the Julian calendar was a 7 day weekly cycle just like we have today.

Now the calendar has not been changed so as to confuse the days of the week. We can be positive that our seventh day is the same day Yehoshua observed when He was here on Earth. Pope Gregory XIII did make a calendar change in 1582, but it did not interfere with the weekly cycle. Our present Gregorian calendar was named after him when he made that small change in 1582.

What did Pope Gregory do to the calendar? Before 1582 the Julian calendar had been in effect, instituted by Julius Ceasar about 46 B.C. and named after him. But the Julian calendar had calculated the length of the year as 365 1/4 days, and the year is actually eleven minutes less than 365 1/4 days. Those eleven minutes accumulated, and by 1582 the numbering of the calendar was ten days out of harmony with the solar system. Gregory simply dropped those ten days out of the numbering of the calendar. It was Thursday, October 4, 1582, and the next day, Friday, should have been October 5. But Gregory made it October 15 instead, dropping exactly ten days to bring the calendar back into harmony with the heavenly bodies.

Were the days of the week confused? No. Friday still followed Thursday, and Saturday still followed Friday. The same seventh day remained, and the weekly cycle was not disturbed in the least. When we keep the seventh day from Friday at sunset to Saturday at sunset, we are observing the same day Yehoshua kept, and He did it every week according to Luke 4:16.

Now we know that Yehoshua the Messiah kept the Sabbath on the same day as the Pharisees and the rest of the Jewish people. Now does history show that all the Jewish sects and communities, from the time of the Messiah until now, that they changed the day that they keep the Sabbath? Well, history proves to us that the Jews of today keep the exact same 7^th day Sabbath as the Messiah 2000 years ago. To think otherwise is evil and is ignoring these proofs.

You see, all Jewish people, even many who did not learn of other calendars, who were scattered all around the world, ALL agreed on when the Sabbath was when they eventually were able to make contact with other Jews because of the advance of technology, there were non that dissagreed on when the Sabbath was.

Another source that we can use is that of the Muslim calendar, which is about 3,000 years old, where thay faithfull kept the day before the Sabbath as their "holy day", and look, what day do they keep today? It is still the same today as it was 3,000 years ago.

Another argument from the lunar sabbatarians that arises is that because we keep the seventh day (where the Gregorian Saturday just happens to fall upon) as the Sabbath, that we are worshipping Saturn who is a pagan idol. If this were true, then the argument could be the same for them, only worse!!! As their erroneous lunar-sabbath falls on Saturn-day, Sun-day, Moon-day, Tyr’s-day, Woden’s-day, Thor’s-day and Frigga-day. All of which are pagan days. It is a pathetic attempt to discredit YHWH’s Sabbath. YHWH’s seven day week (1^st day, 2^nd day, 3^rd day, 4^th day, 5^th day, preparation day and Shabbat) was there long before Julius Caesar and Pope Gregory XIII and their pagan calendars.

Anyone who follows the lunar-sabbath and teaches it to others, is calling the Messiah and His Father liars. These people teach that the Messiah kept the Sabbath on the wrong day. This is an evil teaching and should be thrown in the rubbish bin where it belongs.

Now the moon does have a part in determining time, the sighting of the New Moon indicates the start of a new month (moon), NOT the start of a new week, as we have seen from the above texts.

You can read more about what the lunar-sabbath is all about and where it originates from here.

I hope this evidence opens the eyes of people who are following the lunar-sabbath to repent and turn back to the Scriptural calendar, and for those who are confused by people teaching the evil doctrine of the lunar-sabbath.