Those who say we are not to occupy ourselves with, for example, the physical sabbath - when (if) we observe it, how we observe it - but with the spiritual - obtaining the spiritual rest in Messiah - are failing to grasp the interconnectedness of the physical with the spiritual. The Bible nowhere dissects and separates the physical from the spiritual - this is a Western mindset. The Bible is holistic, viewing a man or woman as a complete entity - a soul. What we do and what we are, are supposed to be echad or one. One day we will be resurrected - our physical bodies and spiritual bodies will be completely merged and inseparable so that there will be no distinguishing them. That is the end or goal of our existence through Messiah.
I think Christians in particular get confused over this because physical matter is often viewed as something negative, a doctrine inherited from the heretical gnostics. And the reason both view physical matter in this way is because it is recognised that the physical is the seat or residence of the 'flesh' or 'carnality', the fallen Adamic nature. However, these are not physical matter itself, for physical matter once existed in a pristine state before the Fall, a condition that Yhvh repeatedly pronounced as "good". The problem with matter is what is lodged in it. And because matter is fallen and possesses this poison, it has to be discarded at death to await the great Restoration when pure, pristine matter can once again be used to clothe spirit and then be fused inseparably together with it to form resurrected substance.
The Lunar Sabbath and Creation Calendar are important because they set not only a temporal cycle for our bodies but connect to a parallel spiritual cycle. When the two operate in synchronisation, there is harmony of mind, lev (heart), spirit and body. They operate as near as is possible to the resurrected state without actually being it, since we are mortal for the duration of this life. They bring all processes into alignment with the Divine Reality, tuning us into the same frequency as the heavenly realm as it awaits its own incarnation and resurrection together with us. All of creation is awaiting it with great eagerness. And whilst certain things in this fallen world must of necessity remain out of alignment until the Divine Hand straightens out some astronomical anomalies - like the period of rotation of the moon around the earth, and the period of the rotation of the earth around the sun, which have been disturbed over the millennia by various forces, some known to us and some yet unknown - there is nevertheless a divinely appointed system of harmonisation which will bring us as close to the original (and that which is to come in the resurrection) to allow greater spiritual dovetailing between submitted mankind and Elohim (G-d).
The effect of the pagan-inspired Roman Gregorian calendar used by the world today is to give the impression that all is as it always has been, a continuous cycle of seven days without interruption from time immemorial. Part of the seduction of this system is that it affords a neatness which the soul naturally yearns for, an uncomplicated succession of time, one sabbath rolling on as regular as clockwork one Saturday (or Sunday) after the other.
The problem with this false cosmic lullaby is that it creates the illusion that all is well when the emet (truth) is the world is violently disjunctive with the Heavenly Harmony and requires constant readjustment. Like sheep we wander, and we do it exceedngly well to our own spiritual detriment, and like sheep we are in constant need of redirection and upon occasion rescue. Life, even as a believer, is a constant string of rescues from the consequences of the unbridled flesh that has led us into sinful behaviour and polluted cycles of life and the management thereof. Part of the enemy's offensive is to keep us comfortable in our disjunction and dysfunctionality by persuading us to keep on as we always have done, never effecting any substantial changes toward making teshuvah (repentance). He wants us so used to his system of temporal and spiritual management (or mismanagement) that we can no longer discern that things are wrong, to thus keep us locked in ignorance and unable to see what needs to be done.
The Creation Calendar breaks that illusion - it shatters it rudely. It reminds us that every week and every month and at every festival we need spiritually and temporally resetting. Just as the moon is out of sync with the earth, and the earth out of sync with the sun, so we human beings are out of synch with the divine life because of the constant tug of carnal forces, whether it be from the fallen Adamic nature within or the crooked time-keeping system invented by the enemy. Life is a constant battle to resist the downward pull of the flesh that would take us out of divine rhythm and try to acclimatise us with the enemy's.
When I discovered the lunar sabbath I discovered something else I had not expected to find - the true meaning of the monthly Rosh Chodesh or New Moon festival. Not only I discovered that Rosh Chodesh was probably one of the most improtant observances of them all, but an understanding of its purpose suddenly opened door after door to other mysteries. Like the biological appendix (a misnomeric name if ever there was one), which was once thought to be a 'vestigal' organ but which turns out to play a vital rôle in the immune system, so Rosh Chodesh or the 'Head of the Moon' truly is a header festival. Rosh Chodesh not only sets the monthly sabbaths but it symbolises the Great Head, Yhvh Himself, to whom we must reset our lives periodically because of our tendency to wander away in sin. Knowing our rhythms all to well, El Elyon - the Most High - understood that we need a reset roughly every 29 to 30 days to enable us to maintain proper communion with the Master of the Sabbath, Yeshua (Jesus) Himself. And Rosh Chodesh is the master of the Sabbath, as the Father is the master of the Mother, as the Husband is of the Wife. And we, as the allegorical wife or bride, need constantly retuning in order to remain mastered by our heavenly Husband or Bridegroom.
The Creation Calendar is a huge challenge because living it immediately sets us apart from the way everything else is done in the world, something we need to be constantly reminded of as tov (good) and not a thing we should be ashamed of. And because the world reacts to it with either amused indifference (or more likely) with barely disguised hostility - particularly in the job place or at school - it forces us to re-evaluate our priorities and to decide whether we are really going to throw outselves into the Father's hands and become fully separated to Him (holy) or not.
Yes, living the Lunar Sabbath requires substantial sacrifices. It may require you to quit your job and become self-employed, assuming a degree of responsibility and faith in Yhvh which you have never had before but which will, actually, be totally required for you to survive in the global dictatorship that is forming. Think about it - a time is coming, as prophesied in the Bible - when we won't be allowed to trade without receiving the Mark of the Beast and losing our salvation.
So adopting the Lunar Sabbath will probably mean you have to change job, get your children out of school, move home, move state/region, and maybe even move country. Does that terrify you? It shouldn't, because that is what Yhvh required of Abraham; and those who claim to belong to Yeshua the Messiah (Jesus Christ) are also called the "seed of Abraham" through emunah (faith). We are called to be like that man of Elohim (G-d) - all of us, Christians and Messianics alike.
The Lunar Sabbath therefore equals spiritual revolution. It is no accident that its observance is being restroed in our time because Yhvh's people cannot survive without it because of the consequences of its implementation. The Lunar Sabbath is for mature believers or those who want to grow up spiritually, for those who mean to follow Yhvh all the way and make no compromise with the world because it won't let you compromise with the world.
Seen from that perspective, it is not hard to see how it could well become a salvational issue, like so many other true principles that the bulk of Christians and Messianics are in denial over. You see, you can't live the lifestyle demanded of the Lunar Sabbath without empowerment and guidance from our Heavenly Father. Isn't that what all believers want? Well, yes, most do, but the trouble is while they want the mountain top they just aren't willing to climb it. So the Lunar Sabbath is also a sifter of the true from the false, of the lazy from the vigorous, of the doubtful from the trusting.
The Lunar Sabbath has totally transformed me and brought everything into sharper focus. Now, having repented of satanic timekeepering, I am moving on to other things while the Lunar Sabbath quietly establishes my weekly and monthly rhythm in Yhvh. Yeshua (Jesus) is still the 'main thing' but now I am lass naked because of my choice to be obedient. There have been, and continue to be challenges, living this way but it opens doors of opportunity for the growth of my emunah (faith). It's something you need to research out carefully until you get an undeniable witness and conviction from the Ruach haQodesh (Holy Spirit) to implement this big change in your lifestyle, and like all important things, it shouldn't be rushed.
One of the things that initially caused me to back off from this teaching was that my early tutors were not only pushy but made fun of those who still followed the Saturday Sabbath. And sometimes they were, shamefully, outright rude and nasty. Equally, those reacting againat the Lunar Sabbath could get quite nasty and mocking too, calling its adherents 'looney sabbatarians'. The magnitude and vehemence of the opposition make me take note too, of course. So many can get turned off the emet (truth) by such unchristian behaviour as well (ironically) as being driven to it. It reminds me of the heated polygamy controversies in the Evangelical (1990's) and Messianic (2000's) movements but the fact of the matter is, people are going to get upset no matter what, they will create websites and write books to 'protect their flock' (and sometimes their salaries), and they will rant and rave, both those who support the emet (truth) and those who are against it. The seeker after emet (truth) must learn to calmly disengage from the mob spirit and see beyond the smoke and heat, quietly study and talk to Yhvh about it.
So I want to encourage those of you who are investigating the Lunar Sabbath to take your time and not get sucked into the emotional fire storms that always result when emet (truth) is presented to an unwilling and unrepentant world, whether it be the fire of frightened opponents or the fire of over-zealous and immature proponents. The emet (truth) is more than able to defend itself.