Saturday Is Not The Scriptural Sabbath Day

This Scriptural Calendar study proves why a continuously repeating cycle of ‘6 work days / 1 Sabbath day‘ is not valid and that Saturday is not the Scriptural Sabbath.

You can click away, thinking that you know the truth; but I pray that you will read the whole explanation to consider it, before declaring that I’m mistaken.

Before we look at Scriptural proofs, ask yourself a question: Do you believe that the enemy would allow Yah the Heavenly Father’s seventh-day Sabbath to conveniently fall on the seventh day of the pagan Roman Empire’s calendar? I don’t!

The enemy is very slick, as they created a false dichotomy between Saturday and Sunday, which serves to hide the Scriptural Sabbath.

Many people who have come out of Roman Christianity teachings believe that Scripture defines a continuously-repeating ‘6 work day / 1 rest day’ cycle, and that Saturday is the 7th day Scriptural Sabbath.

Seventh-Day Adventists even proclaim that a Sunday Sabbath rest day is the mark of the beast. And they think that because they know this, that they are set apart from others.

But the deception of the enemy is much grander than most people realize.

People make the declaration that Saturday has been the seventh-day Sabbath since the creation week in Genesis 1. And they say that Messiah observed the Sabbath on Saturday. But those are false associations without any proof.

There was no such thing as Saturday when Messiah carried out His ministry, as the Romans observed an eight-day week with days named after the first eight letters of their alphabet.

It wasn’t until later in the first century, when Mithraism became a popular religious cult in Rome, that the Romans started using a seven-day calendar with names after planetary gods.

The week started on Saturn day (Saturday), Dies Solis (Sunday) was the second day of the week, Luna (Monday) was the third day, and dies Veneris, Venus Day (Friday), was the seventh day of the week.

It wasn’t until the fourth century that Emperor Constantine officially moved to the seven-day calendar. When he did that, he switched Saturday to the seventh day.

So the current seventh day is not the same as the seventh day from the 1^st century to the 3^rd century, which was Friday; thus, we can’t say that Saturday has always been the seventh day of the week.

Then in the 16^th century, Pope Gregory XIII reformed the calendar to make it more accurately reflect the solar cycle. Ten days were dropped off of the yearly calendar to synchronize the calendar to bring the vernal equinox from March 11 back to March 21.

So the current seventh day is offset by three days, compared to the Saturday of the 4^th-16^th centuries; thus, we can’t say that there’s always been a continuously repeating ‘six work day / one Sabbath day’ cycle.

We can see that Saturday has not always been the seventh day of the Roman calendar.

So there’s no way to say that the Saturday of today’s Roman calendar lines up with the Sabbath that Messiah observed during His ministry. And do we really think that the Satan-empowered antichrist beast popes would conveniently line up the Scriptural Sabbath with their pagan calendar? No!

As you read the explanations, consider how many times you have to make excuses to support that Saturday is the weekly Sabbath.

Some may proclaim that my explanations are too simplistic. To that I would point out that many people debate about the meaning of Hebrews words and they miss the obvious evidence in Scripture.

When we approach a topic with a particular view, we have an inward bias to see how passages support our view and a tendency to put aside things which are against it. I pray that you will seek truth, not to defend a belief.

I highly recommend printing this study out, as a lot of verses are referenced. Just glancing through the explanations is a lazy approach to a serious topic, and it’s not being a Berean.

The concept of a continuously repeating ‘six work day / one Sabbath day’ cycle is invalidated by the Scriptural New Moon Day.

Scripture declares that there are three types of days, not two; which invalidates the concept of a continuously-repeating ‘six work day / one Sabbath day’ cycle. 

How can the Scriptural Sabbath be every seven days, when there are commanded New Moon Days once a month? It’s not possible.

Ezekiel 46:1 tells us that the gate was opened on Sabbath days and New Moon days.

Thus says the Lord GOD: “The gateway of the inner court that faces toward the east shall be shut the six working days; but on the Sabbath it shall be opened, and on the day of the New Moon it shall be opened.

The east gateway was be open on the first day of the Scriptural month, the New Moon day; and on the Sabbath days of the month. But the gate was to be closed on all of the work days.

This makes it impossible that the New Moon Day can fall on a weekly Sabbath or a work day, which invalidates the concept of a continuously-repeating ‘six work day / one Sabbath day’ cycle. 

Ezekiel 46:3-7 proclaims that Sabbath days and  New Moon Days are different, as the sacrifices are different on the two types of days.

Likewise the people of the land shall worship at the door of this gate before the LORD in the sabbaths and in the new moons.

And the burnt offering that the prince shall offer unto the LORD in the sabbath day shall be six lambs without blemish, and a ram without blemish. And the meat offering shall be an ephah for a ram, and the meat offering for the lambs as he shall be able to give, and an hin of oil to an ephah.

And in the day of the new moon it shall be a young bullock without blemish, and six lambs, and a ram: they shall be without blemish. And he shall prepare a meat offering, an ephah for a bullock, and an ephah for a ram, and for the lambs according as his hand shall attain unto, and an hin of oil to an ephah.

Numbers 28:11 defines a specific sacrifice on the first day of the month, the New Moon day.

And in the beginnings of your months ye shall offer a burnt offering unto the LORD; two young bullocks, and one ram, seven lambs of the first year without spot;

The sacrifices that are offered on the New Moon Day are different than the sacrifices on the Sabbath days.

Numbers 29:1-6 describes the sacrifices that were commanded on the first day of the seventh month, on the New Moon Day.

And in the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you have a set-apart gathering, you do no servile work, it is a day of blowing the trumpets for you. And you shall prepare a burnt offering as a sweet fragrance to Yahuah: one young bull, one ram, seven lambs a year old, perfect ones, and their grain offering: fine flour mixed with oil, three-tenths of an ĕphah for the bull, two-tenths for the ram, and one-tenth for each of the seven lambs, and one male goat as a sin offering, to make atonement for you, besides the burnt offering with its grain offering for the New Moon, the continual burnt offering with its grain offering, and their drink offerings, according to their right-ruling, as a sweet fragrance, an offering made by fire to Yahuah. 

Ezra 3:5-6 describes the first day of the month as the New Moon Day.

And afterward offered the continual burnt offering, both of the new moons, and of all the set feasts of the LORD that were consecrated, and of every one that willingly offered a freewill offering unto the LORD. From the first day of the seventh month began they to offer burnt offerings unto the LORD. But the foundation of the temple of the LORD was not yet laid.

Ezekiel 45:17-18 connects the First day of the month with the New Moon Day.

And it shall be the prince’s part to give burnt offerings, and meat offerings, and drink offerings, in the feasts, and in the new moons, and in the sabbaths, in all solemnities of the house of Israel: he shall prepare the sin offering, and the meat offering, and the burnt offering, and the peace offerings, to make reconciliation for the house of Israel. Thus saith the Lord GOD; In the first month, in the first day of the month, thou shalt take a young bullock without blemish, and cleanse the sanctuary. 

It’s interesting that Solomon proclaims the desire to build the temple, in which sacrifices are made on the New Moon Day and the Sabbath days.

Behold, I build an house to the name of the LORD my God, to dedicate it to him, and to burn before him sweet incense, and for the continual shewbread, and for the burnt offerings morning and evening, on the sabbaths, and on the new moons, and on the solemn feasts of the LORD our God. This is an ordinance for ever to Israel. 2 Chronicles 2:4

But who is able to build him an house, seeing the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain him? who am I then, that I should build him an house, save only to burn sacrifice before him? 2 Chronicles 2:6

And then 2 Chronicles 3:2 seems to point to Solomon’s declaration on the first day of the month, the New Moon Day.

And he began to build in the second day of the second month, in the fourth year of his reign.

Messiah used a Jewish idiom to proclaim that He’s returning on the New Moon Day of the seventh month, on the Feast of Trumpets.

Regarding His return, Messiah proclaimed.

But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father. Mark 13:32

The Israelites considered the Feast of Trumpets to be a hidden day as they didn’t know the day or hour of the celestial new moon, as it may occur late one day or early the next day. So they celebrated the Feast of Trumpets over two days and waited to spot the sliver crescent moon after sundown to confirm which day was the New Moon Day.

We can see that Messiah is covertly saying that He will return on the only Holy Feast Day that falls on the New Moon Day, the Feast of Trumpets. By this, we know the context of His return.

Psalms 81:3 is about blowing the trumpet on the Feast of Trumpets, which is on the New Moon Day of the seventh month.

Blow up the trumpet in the new moon, in the time appointed, on our solemn feast day.

We can see the connection of blowing the trumpet on the New Moon Day of the seventh month.

Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, In the seventh month, in the first day of the month, shall ye have a sabbath, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, an holy convocation. Leviticus 23:24

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. Numbers 29:1

1 Corinthians 15:52 points to Messiah returning on the Feast of Trumpets.

In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

The New Moon day is not a work day or a Sabbath day, so it’s incompatible with the pagan Roman calendar and it invalidates the concept of a continuously-repeating ‘six work day / one Sabbath day’ cycle. 

These verses also define Sabbath days and New Moon days as separate days:

And he said, Wherefore wilt thou go to him to day? it is neither new moon, nor sabbath. And she said, It shall be well. 2 Kings 4:23

And to offer all burnt sacrifices unto the LORD in the sabbaths, in the new moons, and on the set feasts, by number, according to the order commanded unto them, continually before the LORD: 1 Chronicles 23:31

Even after a certain rate every day, offering according to the commandment of Moses, on the sabbaths, and on the new moons, and on the solemn feasts, three times in the year, even in the feast of unleavened bread, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles. 2 Chronicles 8:13

He appointed also the king’s portion of his substance for the burnt offerings, to wit, for the morning and evening burnt offerings, and the burnt offerings for the sabbaths, and for the new moons, and for the set feasts, as it is written in the law of the LORD. 2 Chronicles 31:3

For the shewbread, and for the continual meat offering, and for the continual burnt offering, of the sabbaths, of the new moons, for the set feasts, and for the holy things, and for the sin offerings to make an atonement for Israel, and for all the work of the house of our God. Nehemiah 10:33

And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the LORD. Isaiah 66:23

I will also cause all her mirth to cease, her feast days, her new moons, and her sabbaths, and all her solemn feasts. Hosea 2:11

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? Amos 8:5

Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ. Colossians 2:16-17

If the first day of every month is the New Moon Day and we understand the pattern of six work days and then a Sabbath day, then the Sabbaths on the Scriptural calendar have to fall upon the 8th, 15th, 22nd and 29th days on the month.

And Scripture proves this out, as we only see that weekly Sabbaths fall on the 8th, 15th, 22nd and 29th days, and never fall on any other day on the Scripture calendar.

The New Moon Day is the first day of the Scriptural month.

Because it’s the first day of the Scriptural month, that means that the concept of a continuously-repeating ‘six work day / one Sabbath day’ cycle is invalid.

If you have to make excuses to dismiss the following explanations, in order to support your current beliefs, then that should be a red flag.

The narrative of Joshua and the priests walking around Jericho seven days in a row, proves that none of those days were a Sabbath day.

And ye shall compass the city, all ye men of war, and go round about the city once. Thus shalt thou do six days. And seven priests shall bear before the ark seven trumpets of rams’ horns: and the seventh day ye shall compass the city seven times, and the priests shall blow with the trumpets. And it shall come to pass, that when they make a long blast with the ram’s horn, and when ye hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people shall shout with a great shout; and the wall of the city shall fall down flat, and the people shall ascend up every man straight before him. Joshua 6:35

Walking a circuit around the city of Jericho would break Sabbath rests rules, so that proves that the first day was the New Moon Day, then they marched around the city on the six work days of the first week of the month. Then they would have rested on the next day, on the weekly Sabbath day on the 8th day of the month.

1 Samuel 20 proves that the first day of the month is the New Moon Day.

David was not present at meal time on the New Moon Day and the second day of the month, and Saul asked why he was absent both yesterday and today.

And David said to Jonathan, “See, tomorrow is the New Moon, and I ought to sit with the sovereign to eat. But let me go, and I shall hide in the field until the third day at evening. 1 Samuel 20:5

And Jonathan said unto David, O LORD God of Israel, when I have sounded my father about to morrow any time, or the third day, and, behold, if there be good toward David, and I then send not unto thee, and shew it thee. 1 Samuel 20:12

Then Jonathan said to David, Tomorrow is the new moon: and thou shalt be missed, because thy seat will be empty. 1 Samuel 20:18

And it came to be the next day, the second day of the month, that David’s place was empty. And Saul said to Jonathan his son, “Why has the son of Jesse not come to eat, either yesterday or today?” 1 Samuel 20:27

So Jonathan arose from the table in fierce anger, and did eat no meat the second day of the month: for he was grieved for David, because his father had done him shame. 1 Samuel 20:34

Significant events took place on the first day of the month, the New Moon Day.

This doesn’t prove the lunisolar Sabbath calendar, but it shows that the first day is esteemed in the Father’s eyes. And it gives us evidence that the New Moon Day establishes the Sabbaths for the month.

And the LORD spake unto Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the tabernacle of the congregation, on the first day of the second month, in the second year after they were come out of the land of Egypt. Numbers 1:1

And they assembled all the congregation together on the first day of the second month, and they declared their pedigrees after their families, by the house of their fathers, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, by their polls. Numbers 1:18

And Aaron the priest went up into mount Hor at the commandment of the LORD, and died there, in the fortieth year after the children of Israel were come out of the land of Egypt, in the first day of the fifth month. Numbers 33:38

And it came to pass in the fortieth year, in the eleventh month, on the first day of the month, that Moses spake unto the children of Israel, according unto all that the LORD had given him in commandment unto them. Deuteronomy 1:3

For upon the first day of the first month began he to go up from Babylon, and on the first day of the fifth month came he to Jerusalem, according to the good hand of his God upon him. Ezra 7:9

And the children of the captivity did so. And Ezra the priest, with certain chief of the fathers, after the house of their fathers, and all of them by their names, were separated, and sat down in the first day of the tenth month to examine the matter. Ezra 10:16

And they made an end with all the men that had taken strange wives by the first day of the first month. Ezra 10:17

 And it came to pass in the eleventh year, in the first day of the (fifth) month, that the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Ezekiel 26:1

And it came to pass in the seven and twentieth year, in the first month, in the first day of the month, the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Ezekiel 29:17

And it came to pass in the eleventh year, in the third month, in the first day of the month, that the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Ezekiel 31:1

And it came to pass in the twelfth year, in the twelfth month, in the first day of the month, that the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Ezekiel 32:1

In the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth month, in the first day of the month, came the word of the LORD by Haggai the prophet unto Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, saying, Haggai 1:1

The fourth commandment about keeping the Sabbath validates that the Feast of Unleavened Bread falls on a weekly Sabbath.

The fourth commandment in Exodus 20 relates the seventh day Sabbath to the creation week.

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 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. Exodus 20:8-11

Then the fourth commandment in Deuteronomy 5 relates the seventh day Sabbath to the Feast of Unleavened Bread.

Deuteronomy 5:12-14 point to the weekly Sabbath.

Keep the sabbath day to sanctify it, as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee. Six days thou shalt 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, nor thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thine ox, nor thine ass, nor any of thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; that thy manservant and thy maidservant may rest as well as thou.

Deuteronomy 5:15 links the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the day on which the Israelites came out of Egypt, to the weekly Sabbath day.

And remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and that the LORD thy God brought thee out thence through a mighty hand and by a stretched out arm: therefore the LORD thy God commanded thee to keep the sabbath day.

The Israelites left Egypt at evening, under the brilliant light of the full moon, after they had observed the weekly Sabbath on the 15th during the daytime. And because that is established, it means that the 8th, 22nd and 29th of the month are also weekly Sabbaths.

We see how the creation week pattern of six work days and one Sabbath day, play out in the lunisolar Sabbath calendar. Nowhere does Scripture proclaim that there has been a continuously-repeating ‘six work day / one Sabbath day’ cycle since creation. And the Scriptural New Moon Day invalidates that concept.

Scriptural Sabbaths fall on the 8th, 15th, 22nd and 29th days of the month.

People deny that the New Moon Day affects the weekly cycle, and they debate ad nauseum about the Hebrew meaning of words to press their case.

But the proof is in Scripture, as there are many examples of Sabbaths falling on the 8th, 15th, 22nd and 29th of the month; and no examples of weekly Sabbaths falling on any other days on the Scriptural calendar.

The biggest clue is that the spring Feast of Unleavened Bread and fall Feast of Tabernacles always fall on the 15th day of the Scriptural month. 

We see the lunisolar Sabbath calendar at work in the first month:

Passover falls on the 14th day of the first month and it’s the preparation day for the weekly Sabbath day.

The Feast of Unleavened Bread is on the 15th day. Since the weekly Sabbath occurs every seven days, we see how in the first month that they take place on the 8th, 15th, 22nd and 29th.

The Feast of First Fruits is on the 16th day, which is the first day of the week following the Sabbath. The Feast of First Fruits points to Messiah’s resurrection and He would rise on the third day.

The second weekly Sabbath of the first month is called the ‘high day’ because the Holy Feast Day of Unleavened Bread takes place on it. This is validated by the four Gospels, which document the Mary came to the tomb on the first day of the week after the Sabbath.

In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre. Matthew 28:1

And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him. And very early in the morning the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun. Mark 16:1-2

And he took it down, and wrapped it in linen, and laid it in a sepulchre that was hewn in stone, wherein never man before was laid. And that day was the preparation, and the sabbath drew on. And the women also, which came with him from Galilee, followed after, and beheld the sepulchre, and how his body was laid. And they returned, and prepared spices and ointments; and rested the sabbath day according to the commandment. Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them. And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre. Luke 23:53-56, 24:1-2

The Jews therefore, because it was the preparation, that the bodies should not remain upon the cross on the sabbath day, (for that sabbath day was an high day,) besought Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. There laid they Jesus therefore because of the Jews’ preparation day; for the sepulchre was nigh at hand. The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre. John 19:31, 19:42, 20:1

John 20:19 proves that Messiah rose on the 16th day of the month, on the Feast of First Fruits, which was the first day of the new week.

Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. 

These Gospel narratives also prove that the Sabbath prior to the first day of the week was the weekly Sabbath. They don’t proclaim that the first day of the week started after the Feast of Unleavened Bread, but after the sabbath. And they point to Messiah rising again on the feast of First Fruits on the 16th day, which follows the High Feast Day of Unleavened Bread on the 15th day.

People try to account for the three days of Messiah’s death and resurrection using the pagan Roman calendar and a Saturday Sabbath day, but it’s clear on the Scriptural calendar.

We see the the narrative of the preparation day on the 14th, Passover when Messiah shed His blood for our sins; Messiah being dead in the grave on the 15th day, the high day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which represents His sinlessness; and Messiah rising on the 16th day, on the first day of the new week, on the Feast of First Fruits.

Messiah rose on the third day, not on the fourth day.

From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day. Matthew 16:21

And they shall kill him, and the third day he shall be raised again. And they were exceeding sorry. Matthew 17:23

And shall deliver him to the Gentiles to mock, and to scourge, and to crucify him: and the third day he shall rise again. Matthew 20:19

Command therefore that the sepulchre be made sure until the third day, lest his disciples come by night, and steal him away, and say unto the people, He is risen from the dead: so the last error shall be worse than the first. Matthew 27:64

For he taught his disciples, and said unto them, The Son of man is delivered into the hands of men, and they shall kill him; and after that he is killed, he shall rise the third day. Mark 9:31

And they shall mock him, and shall scourge him, and shall spit upon him, and shall kill him: and the third day he shall rise again. Mark 10:34

Saying, The Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be slain, and be raised the third day. Luke 9:22

And he said unto them, Go ye, and tell that fox, Behold, I cast out devils, and I do cures to day and to morrow, and the third day I shall be perfected. Luke13:32

And they shall scourge him, and put him to death: and the third day he shall rise again. Luke18:33

Saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again. Luke 24:7

But we trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed Israel: and beside all this, to day is the third day since these things were done. Luke 24:21

And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: Luke 24:46

And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee; and the mother of Jesus was there: John 2:1

Him God raised up the third day, and shewed him openly; Acts 10:40

And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: 1 Corinthians 15:4

We see the three consecutive days of Passover, Unleavened Bread and First Fruits; and that Messiah rose on the first day of the week, which validates that the 15th of the month was a weekly Sabbath.

We see the lunisolar Sabbath calendar at work in the seventh month:

The first day is the New Moon Day.  With technology today, we know the exact minute of the dark moon, but the Israelites/Jews didn’t know the day or hour that it took place, as it may occur late one day or early the next. So they celebrated the New Moon Day over two days and confirmed the correct day when they cited the sliver crescent moon after sundown.

The Feast of Tabernacles is on the 15th day. Since the weekly Sabbath occurs every seven days, we see how in the first month that they take place on the 8th, 15th, 22nd and 29th.

This Feast of Tabernacles is observed for seven days and then a Sabbath takes place on the 22nd day of the month.

Numbers 10:10 shows us that the first day on the month is marked by blowing trumpets.

Also in the day of your gladness, and in your solemn days, and in the beginnings of your months, ye shall blow with the trumpets over your burnt offerings, and over the sacrifices of your peace offerings; that they may be to you for a memorial before your God: I am the LORD your God.

Numbers 29:1 points to the New Moon Day on the first day of the month, which invalidates the concept of a continuously-repeating ‘six work day / one Sabbath day’ cycle. 

And in the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you have a set-apart gathering, you do no servile work, it is a day of blowing the trumpets for you.

Leviticus 23:39 proves that the Feast of Tabernacles falls on the second weekly Sabbath of the month, which is why it’s called a high day; and that the 22nd day of the month is a weekly Sabbath.

Also in the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when ye have gathered in the fruit of the land, ye shall keep a feast unto the LORD seven days: on the first day shall be a sabbath, and on the eighth day shall be a sabbath.

The eighth day of the Feast of Tabernacles has to be a weekly Sabbath, which confirms that the 15th was one too. This means that the Sabbaths in the seventh month fall on the 8th, 15th, 22nd and 29th days; and the only way this is possible is if the first day is the New Moon Day.

If the weekly Sabbath is not based on the New Moon Day, then that means that the spring Feast of Unleavened Bread and fall Feast of Tabernacles can occur on any day of the pagan Roman calendar.

But how can you have two Sabbaths in one week? You can’t, as it invalidates the concept of a continuously-repeating ‘six work day / one Sabbath day’ cycle.

Leviticus 23:6-7 describe the 15th day Feast of Unleavened Bread as an holy convocation. 

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.

Leviticus 23:8 describes the end of Feast of Unleavened Bread as an holy convocation. 

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.

An holy convocation is defined in Leviticus 23:3 as the weekly Sabbath, showing that the 15th day of the first month is a weekly Sabbath.

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.

Exodus 16:1 describes events on the 15th, the second weekly Sabbath of the month.

And they took their journey from Elim, and all the congregation of the children of Israel came unto the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after their departing out of the land of Egypt.

It’s pointing to the monthly anniversary of the Israelites coming out of Egypt on the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which falls on the second weekly Sabbath. This establishes that the other Sabbaths fell on the 8th, 22nd and 29th of the month.

Deuteronomy 5:12-15 proves that Aviv 15, Israel’s deliverance day, is the weekly Sabbath.

In the context of the fourth commandment about keeping the Sabbath, it points to the Feast of Unleavened Bread as a weekly Sabbath.

Keep the sabbath day to sanctify it, as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee. Six days thou shalt 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, nor thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thine ox, nor thine ass, nor any of thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; that thy manservant and thy maidservant may rest as well as thou. And remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and that the LORD thy God brought thee out thence through a mighty hand and by a stretched out arm: therefore the LORD thy God commanded thee to keep the sabbath day. Deuteronomy 5:12-15

Solomon faithfully kept the Feast of Tabernacles for seven days, starting on the 15th of the month, a High Sabbath. As commanded, they made a solemn assembly on the 22nd, the next weekly Sabbath.

He then sent the people away on the eighth day, the 23rd of the month, which was the 1st day of the week. So we have a confirmation of the 15th being the High Sabbath and the 22nd being the next Sabbath.

Also at the same time Solomon kept the feast seven days, and all Israel with him, a very great congregation, from the entering in of Hamath unto the river of Egypt. And in the eighth day they made a solemn assembly: for they kept the dedication of the altar seven days, and the feast seven days. And on the three and twentieth day of the seventh month he sent the people away into their tents, glad and merry in heart for the goodness that the LORD had shewed unto David, and to Solomon, and to Israel his people. 2 Chronicles 7:8-10

King Hezekiah honored the eighth day Sabbath. 

They began to sanctify on first day of the month, the New Moon day; they gathered together on the 8th day Sabbath; they sanctified the temple in eight days, the last day being the 15th day Sabbath; and they completed the task by the 16th, which is the first day of the next week.

Now they began on the first day of the first month to sanctify, and on the eighth day of the month came they to the porch of the LORD: so they sanctified the house of the LORD in eight days; and in the sixteenth day of the first month they made an end. 2 Chronicles 29:17

The Israelites marched around Jericho for seven days, in offensive battle readiness, and attacked the city on the seventh day. If the continually repeating six work days / 1 Sabbath day cycle were true, then they would have been walking on a Sabbath day, which is a clear violation of the Father’s commands.

This is explained by the fact that the first day was the New Moon Day, the first day of the month. They marched for six more days, and then they rested on the 8th, the weekly Sabbath.

The book of Jasher confirms that the seven-day march around Jericho started on the New Moon Day.

And it was in the second month, on the first day of the month, that the Lord said to Joshua, Rise up, behold I have given Jericho into thy hand with all the people thereof; and all your fighting men shall go round the city, once each day, thus shall you do for six days. And the priests shall blow upon trumpets, and when you shall hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people shall give a great shouting, that the walls of the city shall fall down; all the people shall go up every man against his opponent. And Joshua did so according to all that the Lord had commanded him. And on the seventh day they went round the city seven times, and the priests blew upon trumpets. And at the seventh round, Joshua said to the people, Shout, for the Lord has delivered the whole city into our hands. Jasher 88:14-18

The only way that walked around the city seven days in a row is if the first day was the New Moon Day, which invalidates the concept of a continuously-repeating ‘six work day / one Sabbath day’ cycle.

Nehemiah 8:18 points to the seven day observance of the Feast of Tabernacles High Sabbath on the 15th of the month and then the weekly Sabbath on the 8th day, on the 22nd. 

Also day by day, from the first day unto the last day, he read in the book of the law of God. And they kept the feast seven days; and on the eighth day was a solemn assembly, according unto the manner.

Nehemiah 8:2 points to the seventh month starting on the New Moon Day, when the gates were open and the people gathered together.

And Ezra the priest brought the law before the congregation both of men and women, and all that could hear with understanding, upon the first day of the seventh month.

Nehemiah 8:9-11 validate that the first day of the month is holy unto Yah, as it’s a set-apart day.

And Nehemiah, which is the Tirshatha, and Ezra the priest the scribe, and the Levites that taught the people, said unto all the people, This day is holy unto the LORD your God; mourn not, nor weep. For all the people wept, when they heard the words of the law. Then he said unto them, Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared: for this day is holy unto our Lord: neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the LORD is your strength. So the Levites stilled all the people, saying, Hold your peace, for the day is holy; neither be ye grieved.

Nehemiah 8:13 proves that the holy New Moon day took place on the first day of the month.

And on the second day were gathered together the chief of the fathers of all the people, the priests, and the Levites, unto Ezra the scribe, even to understand the words of the law.

Numbers 33:3 points to the children of Israel leaving Egypt after the Unleavened Bread Holy Sabbath day observance was over, in the evening. 

And they departed from Rameses in the first month, on the fifteenth day of the first month; on the morrow after the passover the children of Israel went out with an high hand in the sight of all the Egyptians.

They would have been able to see because of the full moon.

The narrative of Esther 9 points to the Jews resting on the 15th day weekly Sabbath of the twelve month of Adar, despite the order of the king.

But the Jews that were at Shushan assembled together on the thirteenth day thereof, and on the fourteenth thereof; and on the fifteenth day of the same they rested, and made it a day of feasting and gladness. Esther 9:18

Therefore the Jews of the villages, that dwelt in the unwalled towns, made the fourteenth day of the month Adar a day of gladness and feasting, and a good day, and of sending portions one to another. And Mordecai wrote these things, and sent letters unto all the Jews that were in all the provinces of the king Ahasuerus, both nigh and far, To stablish this among them, that they should keep the fourteenth day of the month Adar, and the fifteenth day of the same, yearly. Esther 9:19-21

Instead of being in sorrow from the demands of the kings, their righteous observance of the sabbath on the 15th day of the month resulted in joy as they celebrated by sharing with each other on the weekly Sabbath preparation day on the 14th.

Ezekiel 32 points to Yah speaking to Ezekiel on the set-apart days of the New Moon Day and second weekly Sabbath day of the twelve month.

And it came to pass in the twelfth year, in the twelfth month, in the first day of the month, that the word of the LORD came unto me. Ezekiel 32:1

It came to pass also in the twelfth year, in the fifteenth day of the month, that the word of the LORD came unto me. Ezekiel 32:17

John records that Messiah taught on the weekly Sabbath on the 22nd day.

The Feast of Tabernacles is observed for seven days, starting on the 15th and ending on the 21st.

John 7:37 says that Messiah proclaimed this on the seventh day, on the 21st:

In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. 

John 8:1 records that Messiah left Jerusalem to go to the Mount of Olives.

Then John 8:2 says that Messiah came into the temple, as was the custom on the weekly Sabbath.

And early in the morning he came again into the temple, and all the people came unto him; and he sat down, and taught them.

John 19:31 points to the Feast of Unleavened Bread being a weekly Sabbath, which is referred to as a ‘high day,’ a great day because a Holy Feast Day falls on it.

The Jews therefore, because it was the preparation, that the bodies should not remain upon the cross on the sabbath day, (for that sabbath day was an high day,) besought Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away.

The text identifies the 15th as a Sabbath day, and then makes the declaration that it’s a ‘high day’ because the Feast of Unleavened Bread takes place on it. This proves that the weekly Sabbaths are always on the 8th, 15th, 22nd and 29th of each luni-solar month.

The pagan Roman calendar is not compatible with Scripture.

The Jews developed Rules Of Postponement to accommodate a 7-day Sabbath cycle.

Recall the kind of behavior that caused the Jews to be taken to Babylon and their city and temple destroyed. Yah proclaimed”

I hate, I despise your feast days, and I will not smell in your solemn assemblies. Amos 5:21

To what purpose cometh there to me incense from Sheba, and the sweet cane from a far country? your burnt offerings are not acceptable, nor your sacrifices sweet unto me. Jeremiah 6:20

Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an abomination unto me; the new moons and 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. Isaiah 1:13-15

While in Babylonian captivity, many of the Jews continued in their rebellion and adopted more pagan Babylonian customs. Over the years, the Jews developed Rules of Postponement to align a 7-day Sabbath cycle with the Lunisolar calendar.

In the 4th century, Emperor Constantine forced the Jews to observe a solar-based calendar, which featured a repeating cycle of 7 days; or be subject to death.

In 358 AD, Sanhedrin patriarch Hillell II compromised with Rome when he provided a mathematically-based calendar that would harmonize with the Roman sun-based calendar, while appearing to still be based on the luni-solar Scriptural roots. In order to reduce persecution by Rome, the Jews exchanged Scriptural lunar Sabbaths for the popularized Roman unbroken-cycle-of seven day weeks. This causes their Sabbaths to be out of sync with the New Moons, and with the holy appointed Feast Days.

The Rules of Postponement make sure that while following the Roman calendar, that certain Holy Days are not adjacent to the Saturday Sabbath. But their Rules of Postponement are not Scriptural, which confirms that the Jewish rabbi are not using the Scriptural Calendar for the seventh day Sabbath!

Abib 10, 14 and 16 (which are commanded work day) float on the Roman calendar, making them fall on Saturday Sabbaths every 1-3 years.

Abib 10, the 10th day of the first month, the Israelites had to go and purchase a lamb if they didn’t have one.

Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house: Exodus 12:3

If Abib 10 falls on Saturday, there is no provision in this command to purchase it a day early or a day late.

Abib 14 is the preparation day for the 15th day Sabbath. There is no Scriptural provision to prepare on a different day.

On Abib 16, they harvested some grain to wave the sheaf. There is no Scriptural provision to carry this out on a different day.

Every 1-3 years; either Abib 10, 14 and 16 will fall onto Saturday on the pagan Roman calendar; which violates the commands of Scripture.

None of this happens on the lunisolar Sabbath calendar. There are always six work days on a week. Abib 10, 14 and 16 always fall on work days.

Commanded Sabbath Holy Feast Days fall on work days on the pagan Roman calendar. 

Since many people divorce the weekly Sabbaths from the lunisolar calendar, this means that the Holy Feast Days of the Feast of Unleavened Bread and Tabernacles can fall on a work day on the pagan Roman calendar.

This means that during that week, there would be two sabbath days, one for the Holy Feast Day and the other for the weekly Sabbath. But this invalidates the concept of a continuously repeating ‘six work day / one Sabbath day’ cycle.

None of this happens on the lunisolar Sabbath calendar, as the Holy Feast Days of the Feast of Unleavened Bread and Tabernacles take place on the second weekly Sabbath of the month; so the weekly pattern of six work days is maintained.

These Jewish resources validate that the Sabbath is tied to the New Moon Day. 

Saturday Sabbath observers proclaim that the Jews have kept track of the Sabbath, but the Jews were compromised while in Babylonian captivity and also when Roman Emperor forced Jewish scholar Hillel II to create a 7th-day Sabbath with special Rules of Postponement, to avoid persecution.

The witness of Philo validates that the Scriptural weekly Sabbaths are based on the lunisolar calendar.

Philo was of the tribe of Levi and lived from 20 BC to 40 AD, so he witnessed the amazing things which took place during this time.

In this account, Philo proclaims that the greatest festivals, the Holy Feast Days of Unleavened Bread and Tabernacles, fall on the weekly Sabbath day.

”But to the seventh day of the week he has assigned the greatest festivals, those of the longest duration, at the periods of the equinox both vernal and autumnal and autumnal in each year; appointing two festivals for these two epochs, each lasting seven days; the one which takes place in the spring being for the perfection of what is being sown, and the one which falls in autumn being a feast of thanksgiving for the bringing home of all the fruits which the trees have produced.” (The Decalogue XXX (159)

Philo points to the Feast of Unleavened Bread taking place on the weekly Sabbath.

“Again the beginning of this feast is appointed for the fifteenth day of the month (or seventh day of the week) on account of the reason which has already been mentioned respecting the Spring season might receive special honor of one sacred day of festival.” (The Tenth Festival XXXIII (210)

The 1943 Universal Jewish Encyclopedia volume 10 page 482 says,

“With the development of the importance of the Sabbath as a day of consecration and emphasis laid upon the significant number seven, the week became more and more divorced from its lunar connection, so that by the time of the second Temple it was merely a period of seven days and no longer depended on the new moon. From Judaism the week passed over to Christianity, and through the influence of the later was generally adopted throughout the Roman empire.” (edited by Isaac Landman under the article “week”, written by Simon Cohen, Director of Research)

In the 1943 Universal Jewish Encyclopedia volume 5 page 410 edited by Isaac Landman under the article “ HOLIDAYS”, written by a well respected Rabbi, Max Joseph, it says,

“1. Sabbath and New Moon (Rosh Hodesh), both periodically recurring in the course of the year.  The New Moon is still, and the Sabbath originally was, dependent upon the lunar cycle.  Both date back to the nomadic period of Israel. Originally the New Moon was celebrated in the same way as the Sabbath; gradually it became less important, while the Sabbath became more and more a day of religion and humanity, of religious meditation and instruction, of peace and delight of the soul, and produced powerful and beneficent effects outside of Judaism.”

For more Jewish witnesses, read Lunisolar Calendar Witnesses

Before we focus on the Scriptural Sabbath, we need to focus on when a day begins, as it affects to concept of the Sabbath being from Friday evening to Saturday evening.

Next Study: When Does A Scriptural Day Start?

Related Studies: Seventh Day Adventist False Prophecy Fulfillment Teachings