What Is The True Sabbath Day?

This Scriptural Calendar study proves a pattern of Sabbath falling on the 8th, 15th, 22nd and 29th of the Scriptural calendar, which is only possible on the lunisolar calendar.

Jews, Hebrew Roots, Torah Only, and Seventh Day Adventists, proclaim that Saturday is the Sabbath, but as we saw in the “A Repeating 6/1 Day Cycle Is InvalidLINK” study, Scriptures declare that there is a New Moon Day, which interrupts that cycle.

This means that the Sabbath cannot be on any fixed day of the Roman Gregorian calendar, as they are incompatible.

People debate about whether the New Moon Day is a separate day.  They state that the Jews have kept track of the Sabbath and it lines up with Saturday.

But Scripture clearly defines a pattern of Sabbaths that fall on the 8th, 15th, 22nd and 29th of the Biblical month; which can only happen on a lunisolar calendar.

Put aside Jewish fables and listen to the collective witness of these verses:

In the middle of the month the full moon would appear. The full moon would be shining bright during the major Feast Days of Unleavened Bread and Tabernacles, which occur on the 15th of the 1st and 7th month.

Because the Holy Feast Days of Unleavened Bread and Tabernacles occur on the 15th, which is a Sabbath Day, they are called a “High Sabbath“.

John 19:31 tells us that the day after Passover is the Sabbath, meaning it is the 7th day of the week.  THEN it adds that it is a high Sabbath, meaning it is also a Feast 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 asked Pilate to have their legs broken, and that they be taken away. John 19:31

This proves that the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which Scripture declares is on the 15th of the 1st Biblical month, is always on the 7th day Sabbath.  This proves that the weekly Sabbaths are always on the 8th, 15th, 22nd and 29th of each luni-solar month.

Since the calendar resets every month based on the lunar cycle, the first day (new moon day) of the next month can land on any Gregorian calendar day, and the Sabbaths which fall on the 8th, 15th, 22nd and 29th, would also fall on that same day.

For example, if the first day of the new Biblical month fell on Wednesday of the Roman calendar, then the weekly Sabbaths would fall on Wednesday as well, as they occur every 7th day.

Below is how the month calendar with the weekly Sabbaths would look for the 1st month on the year, which occurs in Spring and includes the Holy Feast Days of Passover and Unleavened Bread.

As you can see, the Holy Feast Day of Unleavened Bread falls on the 15th, on the Sabbath Day, making it a High Sabbath.

1st month of Bibical Luni-solar calendar

Leviticus 23:39 the Father commanded us to start the Feast of Tabernacles on the 15th day of the 7th month, which is a sabbath, making it a High Sabbath.  Then on the eight day of the Feast, on the 22nd, He said it is also a Sabbath, proving the pattern of 8th, 15th, 22nd and 29th.

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.”

7th Biblical Month calendar includes the feast of Tabernacles, Atonement and Tabernacles

Instead of debating verses about the Sabbath, which causes most people’s minds to blur, let’s focus on clear examples in scripture, which reveal the truth.

Here are many Scriptural proofs which show that the weekly Sabbaths occur on the 8th, 15th, 22nd and 29th of each luni-solar month:

Exodus chapter 20 lists the “Ten Commandments”. But when Moses repeats the commandments in Deuteronomy chapter 5, there is something unusual.

Genesis pattern answer http://www.viewzone.com/calendarx.html

“Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. … 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

“[12] Keep the sabbath day to sanctify it, as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee. [13] Six days thou shalt labour, and do all thy work: [14] But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work,…[15] 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

So the Fourth commandment in Deuteronomy does not mention Creation at all as a reason for the Sabbath. Instead, it talks about the exodus from Egypt. When did the Almighty bring them out from Egypt with a mighty hand?

“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.”
–Numbers 33:3

“Observe the month of Abib, and keep the passover unto the LORD thy God: for in the month of Abib the LORD thy God brought thee forth out of Egypt by night.”
–Deuteronomy 16:1

It is well known that they left Egypt on the Sabbath of Unleavened Bread, at night. People today teach that the Sabbath of Unleavened Bread is different from the seventh day Sabbath. But here they seem to be related, or even the same. They are linked by the Fourth Commandment as recorded in two different renderings.

  • The Fourth Commandment in Exodus 20 clearly references the seventh day Sabbath based on Creation.
  • The Fourth Commandment in Deuteronomy 5 clearly references the seventh day Sabbath based on the deliverance from Egypt, which occurred on the evening of the Sabbath of Unleavened Bread.

The Israelites left Egypt on the day after Passover (the Sabbath of Unleavened Bread) and it was the “fifteenth day of the first month”. (Passover is the fourteenth of the first month of the year.)

Scripture proves that the 15th of the first luni-solar month is a Sabbath Day.

In the 1st month (Abib) of the Biblical calendar, the Passover falls on the 14th day, and the High Sabbath of the Feast of Unleavened Bread falls on the 15th.

In the fourteenth day of the first month at even is the LORD’S passover. And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the feast of unleavened bread unto the LORD: seven days ye must eat unleavened bread. In the first day ye shall have an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein.” Lev. 23:5-7

The Feast of Firstfruits is celebrated on the day after the 1st day of Unleavened Bread, which is the weekly Sabbath, again confirming that it occurs on the 15th.

When ye be come into the land which I give unto you, and shall reap the harvest thereof, then ye shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest unto the priest: And he shall wave the sheaf before the LORD, to be accepted for you: on the morrow after the sabbath the priest shall wave it.” Lev. 23:10-11

Scripture proves that 40 years after the Israelites left Egypt, the Feast of Unleavened Bread High Sabbath continued to be on the 15th.

The cycle of a New Moon day, six work days and a weekly Sabbath day, continued for 40 years. At the end of the 40 years, after the high day Sabbath of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the manna ceased on the next day, a work day, on which they would have normally gathered it; and they entered into Canaan.

And the children of Israel encamped in Gilgal, and kept the passover on the fourteenth day of the month at even in the plains of Jericho. And they did eat of the old corn of the land on the morrow after the passover, unleavened cakes, and parched corn in the selfsame day. And the manna ceased on the morrow after they had eaten of the old corn of the land; neither had the children of Israel manna any more; but they did eat of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year.” Joshua 5:10-12

Some argue that the Father provided manna to the Israelites for six days and had them gather a double portion the day before the Sabbath.

But they had herds of animals, flour and oils to prepare bread, etc., so they did not just survive on manna everyday for 40 years.

The Father used the manna to teach them the monthly cycles and weekly Sabbaths, and to test them.

The monthly cycle of the stars and moon declare the glory of our Creator. When you follow the Roman solar-based calendar, you are out of sync with the Father’s creation.

By observing the months and weekly Sabbaths around the lunar cycle, this causes His followers to be in synchronicity with the heavenly realms of worship.

REWORD THE FOLLOWING TO ADD TO THE ABOVE

Exactly one lunar month after they left Egypt, the people congregated together on the fifteenth day of the month, and they took that opportunity to complain to Moses about the lack of food. The story is in Exodus 16.

It specifically said that the quails would come “at even”, and that the bread would come the next “morning”. The simplest explanation for this is that the day, the fifteenth of the month, was the Sabbath, and that the people were to wait until after sunset before gathering food.

The quail was given in the evening after the Sabbath had past. The manna was given on the mornings of all the workdays, and twice as much on the Preparation day (the day before the Sabbath).

  • 1st month – Unleavened bread Sabbath was the 15th.
  • 2nd month – Sabbath when they complained was the 15th.
  • 3rd month – When was the Sabbath?

On the third month the whole congregation assembled before the Almighty. When did this assembly occur? On the 15th day of the third month! They left Egypt on the 15th day of the first month, and they came to Sinai on the 15th day of the third month.

“In the third month, when the children of Israel were gone forth out of the land of Egypt, the same day came they into the wilderness of Sinai.”
–Exodus 19:1

The dedication of the priesthood of Aaron and his sons was on the 8th day Sabbath.

During the first month of the second year since their departure from Egypt in which Passover was to be kept, Aaron and his sons were inducted into the Priesthood and sanctified for seven days beginning on New Moon Day (Exodus 40:2,17).

On the eighth day, which was the 8th day of the lunar month, there was an assembly of the congregation for worship, identifying the 7th day Sabbath.

Solomon honored the 22nd day Sabbath.

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. (2 Chronicles 7:8-10).

King Hezekiah honored the 8th day Sabbath.

The people began to sanctify on New Moon day of the first month, then on the 8th of the month they went to the temple.

On the 16th of the month, they “made an end,” which was the first day of the work week (2 Chronicles 29:17). Here again the Sabbaths are fixed to the 8th, 15th, 22nd and 29th lunar calendar dates.

After the famous Battle of Jericho, they rested on the 8th day, the weekly Sabbath.

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”, which is not in the Bible but is historically useful, even says the march started on the New Moon Day.

REWORD/ADD

In the famous Battle of Jericho, the Israelites marched around Jericho for seven days, in offensive battle readiness, and attacked the city on the seventh day. Which of those seven days was the Sabbath? None of them! They started on the New Moon day, had a seven day march, and then rested on the eighth day of the month, which was the Sabbath. The “Book of Jasher”, which is not in the Bible but is historically useful, even says the march started on the New Moon.

Our Messiah healed the blind man on the 22nd day, on the weekly Sabbath.

The last day of the Feast of Tabernacles is fixed to the 21st day of the 7th month of Ethanim (Leviticus 23:34, 36, 39-41; Numbers 29:12; Deuteronomy 16:13-15; Nehemiah 8:13-18; Ezekiel 45:21-25).

Our Messiah, Yahushua, attended the Feast of Tabernacles (John 7:10).

On the last day of the feast, the 21st of the 7th month, Messiah stood and spoke (John 7:37; compare with Leviticus 23:33-36).

Our Messiah spent that night of the 21st on the Mount of Olives (John 8:1).

The next morning, the 22nd of the 7th month, our Messiah returned to the temple because it was the 7th day Sabbath (John 8:2; compare with Leviticus 23:33-36 ). At the temple the Messiah healed a blind man (John 9:6).

The healing of the blind man caused great anger among the Priests, for it was the 7th day Sabbath and they believed it was sin to perform such a miracle upon the Sabbath day (John 9:14).

This places the weekly 7th day Sabbaths in our Messiah’s time on the 8th, 15th, 22nd, and 29th of the month yet again.

REWORD TO ADD TO ABOVE

Yeshua healed a blind man on the Sabbath, the 22nd day of the seventh month. John 7:2 says that it was the Feast of Tabernacles, and John 7:37 says that on the last great day of the seven day feast, Yeshua announced that he was the source of living water. Then in John 7:53 we read that everyone went home (for the night) and the next verse, John 8:1, says that Yeshua went to the Mount of Olives.

The next verse says that in the morning they all went to the temple. The actual healing and the reaction of the Pharisees is the subject of John chapter 9. Some people try to use this scripture to say that the Sabbath was on the 23rd. But this argument requires that the Feast of Tabernacles be eight days long, not seven days, as specified in Leviticus.

Christ’s death on Passover proves that the Sabbath is not Saturday or Sunday

Our Messiah died in 31 A.D. on Passover.  The New Moon Day of the 1st month of the Biblical calendar which occurred in 31 A.D., was on 3/13.

The Passover occurs on the 14th of the month, which means that Messiah died on 3/26, a Monday.

As you can see, there is no way that Messiah rose 3 days later on a Saturday or Sunday.

And the point is mute, as the Roman Calendar in 31 A.D. was an 8-day calendar, which did not even have a day named Sunday.

The first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, a High Sabbath, occurred on the 7th day of the week, which was 3/27 A.D.

And He rose again the next day, on the Feast of Firstfruits, which was the 1st day of the next week.

This invalidates the Messiah rose on Saturday or Sunday, which is used by people to justify that day as the Sabbath.

The High Sabbath Feast Days in both Spring and Fall, occur on the 15th.

Every time in Scripture where the Feast of Unleavened Bread or the Feast of Tabernacles is mentioned, they are always fixed to a 7th day Sabbath. There is no mention in Scripture of either of these set-apart feasts commencing on a day other than the 7th day Sabbath.

The beginning lunar calendar date for both was always the 15th counting from the New Moon. Therefore, this fixed all the other Sabbaths for the first and seventh month on the 8th, 22nd , and 29th each year. (Leviticus 23:5, 6, 34, 35; Numbers 29:12 -39).

According to Leviticus 23 and the Sanctuary luni-solar time model, every year the Feast of Unleavened Bread begins on the 15th of the First Month of Abib, which is always fixed to a 7th day Sabbath.

Six months later, the first day of Feast of Tabernacles also falls on the 15th, which is fixed to a 7th day Sabbath, as well. This seven-day feast is followed eight days later by a “sacred convocation” (7th day Sabbath) on the 22nd, each and every single year.

These two feast days, according to Scripture consistently commence on the 7th day Sabbath, which are identified as the 15th of their respective months, a full six months apart exactly.

Using the Biblical criteria above it is impossible to place both feasts six months apart and have them both commence on the 15th of the Roman Gregorian calendar month and be on a Saturday.

If per chance one year it happens to successfully work out, it cannot occur two years in a row and definitely not every year, as is required by Scripture.

The problem lies within the Gregorian calendar’s promotion of the unbroken-cycle-of-successive-weeks. Over and over again Scripture demonstrates that it has never utilized an unbroken continuous weekly cycle. (Numbers 29:12 – 39; Leviticus 23:5, 6, 34, 35).

Here’s a link to a Bible study that provides more examples of the Sabbaths falling on the 8th, 15th, 22nd and 29nd; proving the lunisolar calendar http://www.nccg.org/642Art-SabbathDays.html

The Israelites left Egypt on the day after Passover (the Sabbath of Unleavened Bread) and it was the “fifteenth day of the first month”. (Passover is the fourteenth of the first month of the year.)

Study References:

All the Sabbaths in Scripture fall on the 8th, 15th, 22nd and 29th days of the month. http://www.creationcalendar.com/CalendarIssue/28-8-15-22-29_Proof.pdf

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23 thoughts on “What Is The True Sabbath Day?”

  1. Well, now I’m completely confused. I think this assumes that I already know what the lunisolar calendar is and I know which is the 1st month. Obviously we have been following the Roman calendar so I would have no clue of the lunisolar calendar. And if I understand this correctly, even the Jewish people are incorrect in observing saturday as the sabbath?

    Reply
    • Cathie, I explain that Scriptural calendar in the When Does A Day Start?, The Start Of A Scriptural Month and The Start Of A Scriptural Year studies. And you are correct, that the Jewish people compromised in the fourth century to begin observing a Saturday Sabbath, when Emperor Constantine forced them to do so or face persecution.

      Reply
  2. Let’s imagine we no longer have paper calendar and all calenders are lost. We have to start over. Where do we look to figure out? Clearly it’s the moon and seasons on barley and wheat.

    Reply
  3. Firstly, your tag on the bottom of the page which reads “Heavenly Father, I pray that you bind Satan, his demons and his spirits, and cast them away from this website, and from the visitors of this website. I pray that you grant the visitors of this website eye salve, to see the truth, that they would repent and be your witnesses! I pray this in the name of your Son, our Messiah.” AMEN! and Yes oh Lord!!!!

    Secondly, can you explain where the 8th day comes in? I’m looking for truth in the word and using the “work 6 days, rest on the 7th day” scriptures. If that is our starting point, where does the 8th day come about? Also, do you have any feedback on the “Days of Remembrance” where we are to add an additional day during/after certain seasonal soltices prior to the Sabbath which are two or three times throughout the year? The purpose of these is to stay on track with the # of days mentioned in scripture?

    Any help or feedback is appreciated. I’m earnestly looking to worship and honor God the way He intended for all of His followers. Selah.

    Reply
    • Brenda, the monthly Sabbaths align with the New Moon Day. 1st > 8th > 15th > 22nd > 29th. So the eighth day of the month is a Sabbath.

      The concept of a continuously-repeating ‘six work days / one Sabbath day’ cycle is not Scriptural, as it doesn’t account for the New Moon Day each month.

      What Scriptures tell us to add an additional day during/after certain seasonal solstices prior to the Sabbath which are two or three times throughout the year?

      Reply
    • That is correct. The monthly Sabbaths align with the New Moon Day. 1st > 8th > 15th > 22nd > 29th. In the first and seventh month, a Holy Feast Day takes place on the second Sabbath, on the 15th, which is why it’s called a High Sabbath. The High Sabbaths of Unleavened Bread and Tabernacles are highlighted by a full moon on the second Sabbath.

      Reply
  4. I’m trying to understand non “weekly” seventh day Sabbaths compared to other Sabbaths. i.e. Atonement, Trumpets, etc.

    I’ll keep digging on your website, but can you help me reconcile this link the below? I was beginning to think I had this figured out until I came across thescripturalcalendar.com

    https://www.sabbath.org/index.cfm/fuseaction/Library.sr/CT/HWA/k/463/Resurrection-Not-Sunday.htm

    e.g. And the Hebrew calendar shows that in the year Jesus was crucified, the 14th of Abib, Passover day, the day Jesus was crucified, was Wednesday. And the annual Sabbath was Thursday. This was the Sabbath that drew on as Joseph of Arimathea hastened to bury the body of Jesus late that Wednesday afternoon. There were two separate Sabbaths that week!

    Matthew 28:1. In the common versions it says, “In the end of the Sabbath,” or more correctly, “after the Sabbath.” Notice that both of these renderings use the singular—Sabbath. But in the original Greek the word is in the plural. Fenton renders it correctly by saying, “After the SABBATHS,” although the remaining part of the verse he has not translated quite correctly. In a footnote to this text, he says, “The Greek original is in the plural, ‘Sabbaths.'”

    and

    Matthew 12:40 ESV© For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

    3 days AND 3 nights conflicts with the Friday crucifixtion and the Sunday resurrection. Does this work with your model?

    Reply
    • Brian, narratives that are based on the pagan Roman calendar which proclaim that Saturday is the Sabbath are misleading.

      Messiah repeatedly said that He would rise on the third day, not the fourth.

      Messiah died on Passover on the 14th, was dead in the grave on the Feast of Unleavened Bread on the 15th and rose again the next day on the Feast of First Fruits on the 16th.

      On the lunisolar Sabbath calendar, the Feast of Unleavened Bread falls on the second Sabbath of the month, on the 15th, which is why it’s called a High Sabbath.

      The next day, the 16th, is the first day of the next week. Messiah rose on the first day of the week, on the Feast of First Fruits.

      This study explains how to reconcile Matthew 12:40
      https://comeoutofher.org/messiah-rose-on-the-third-day/

      Reply
        • Patricia, Scripture says that Messiah points to Messiah being in the grave on the Feast of Unleavened Bread which takes place on the second Sabbath of the month, on the 15th day, which is why it’s called a ‘high Sabbath.’ He rose again on the first day of the next week, on the 16th, on the Feast of First Fruits.

          We follow the Scriptural calendar, not the Roman one.

          Reply
  5. I have read so many things about this topic and maybe I missed it in the reading of this article….Are we required to keep the weekly Sabbaths? And, if so, how are we to keep a job if it lands on different days every month?

    Reply
    • Jenifer, observing the Sabbath seems to be an everlasting covenant. Observe a Sabbath rest on one of your days off for now, pray about it and if the Father wills He will make a way to observe it on whatever day it falls. The most important thing is to have a set-apart day, to read Scripture, pray, spend time with family and friends, Spent time in nature, to get rest from the normal taxing things of life.

      Reply
  6. This confirms it because i have never been sure about saturday because God named everything on earth except for the days he just numbered them… and then on the fourth day he made the moon and stars And God said, “Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years, 15 and let them be lights in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth.” And it was so. 16 God made two great lights—the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. 17 God set them in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth, 18 to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19 And there was evening, and there was morning—the fourth day. Is it a coincidence that he made the heavenly bodies in which to tell the time on the fourth day and the sabbath is on the fourth commandment?

    Reply
    • Thank you for your comment. That’s an interesting point about the heavenly bodies being created on the fourth day and the Sabbath being in the fourth commandment!

      Reply
    • Are there Scriptures that talk about two Sabbaths during the same weekly cycle?

      The concept of a continuously repeating ‘six work day / one Sabbath day’ cycle doesn’t work because the High Sabbaths of the Feast of Unleavened Bread and Tabernacles fall during the week, which interrupts the cycle.

      Your explanation doesn’t account for the New Moon Day, which is the first day of the Scriptural month. It is not a work day or a Sabbath day.

      https://thescripturalcalendar.com/saturday-is-not-the-scriptural-sabbath-day/

      Reply

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