Seventh Day of the week

In the quest for historical evidence to prove the lunar Sabbath, we have noticed that Philo is not mentioned very often by those who support Saturday Sabbaths. The writings of Philo are very important for establishing Judean practice and belief both before and during the Messiah’s time here on earth.

It is a major blow to Saturday-sabbatarian theology to realize that Philo LEFT OUT of his writings anything pertaining to Saturday Sabbaths. Not once did Philo mention another week other than the LUNAR cycle in determining the Sabbath day. In fact, the word SATURDAY or SATURN’S DAY isn’t mentioned even ONCE in Philo’s entire book.


In the works of Philo "THE DECALOGUE" it says

XX. (96) The fourth commandment has reference to the sacred seventh day, that it may be passed in a sacred and holy manner. Now some states keep the holy festival [the Sabbath] only once in the month, counting from the new moon, as a day sacred to G-d; but the nation of the Jews keep every seventh day regularly, after each interval of six days;

Philo here says that some provinces were observing the holy Sabbath day festival only once in the month. Notice how he centers in on ONLY ONCE in the month. He also mentions that they were keeping it by COUNTING FROM THE NEW MOON and recognizing it as a day sacred to YHVH Now, if counting from the New Moon to find the weekly Sabbath is erroneous, how did these states keep the holy festival once a month? Think about this. Philo DID NOT say they kept A Sabbath or THEIR Sabbath or a BOGUS Sabbath, but rather he said they kept the holy festival sacred to YHVH! This has to mean that the proper way to find the holy festival of the Sabbath is TO COUNT FROM THE NEW MOON!

Philo continues by saying that the Judean nation kept every seventh day holy after each interval of six days. This poses no problem at all to lunar sabbatarians as we too do what Philo did. Philo has already given us the proof that counting from the New Moon was the proper way to find the holy festival of the weekly Sabbath. Therefore, when he says the Judeans kept every seventh day holy, he is speaking of every seventh day after each interval of six working days periods from New Moon to New Moon. This is the only logical way to understand this particular passage in Philo.

If Saturday keepers were to say that “some churches keep the holy Sabbath only once a month counting on today’s calendar, but we keep every seventh day after six workdays,” the only possible way to construe what they’re saying is that their (and “some churches”) holy Sabbath day was found by counting on the same calendar — today’s Gregorian calendar.

When Philo made the very same statement, the weeks and holy Sabbath days were BY THE MOON — that too was common knowledge.

The same thing applies today if you said that some people keep the holy Sabbath/Saturday only once a month by the calendar but you keep every Sabbath after six workdays. (That DOESN’T MEAN that you counted a different way or had a different calendar than they).

Philo used the word “intervals” and we know that there are approximately 12 monthly “intervals” each year, and each month has four Sabbaths with “intervals” of six work days between each with a Sabbath at the end of each. Philo kept every one of them — not just one per moon.

Speaking of INTERVALS or after six work day LUNAR intervals Philo, he writes,

THE SPECIAL LAWS, I
(178), ...there is one principle of reason by which the moon waxes and wanes in equal intervals, both as it increases and diminishes in illumination; the seven lambs because it receives the perfect shapes in periods of seven days--the half-moon in the first seven day period after its conjunction with the sun, full moon in the second; and when it makes its return again, the first is to half-moon, then it ceases at its conjunction with the sun.

Let’s continue with Philo’s writings:

ALLEGORICAL INTERPRETATION,
1 IV (8) Again, the periodical changes of the moon, take place according to the number seven, that star having the greatest sympathy with the things on earth. And the changes which the moon works in the air, it perfects chiefly in accordance with its own configurations on each seventh day. (9) At all events, all mortal things, as I have said before, drawing their more divine nature from the heaven, are moved in a manner which tends to their preservation in accordance with this number seven... VI. (16) Accordingly, on the seventh day, G-d caused to rest from all his works which he had Made.

Does Philo speaks about the Sabbaths in connection with the waxing and waning of the moon?

The answer is YES — in fact the lunar week and lunar Sabbath is the only week or Sabbath mentioned in Philo’s entire writings.





In “Questions and Answers, Exodus, Book 1”: it says,

“9. (Ex. xii. 6a) Why does He command (them) to keep the sacrifice until the fourteenth (day of the month)? (Consisting of) two Sabbaths, it has in its nature a (special) honour because in this time the moon is adorned. For when it has become full on the fourteenth (day), it becomes full of light in the perception of the people. And again through (another) fourteen (days) it recedes from its fullness of light to its conjunction, and it wanes as much in comparison with the preceding Sabbath as the second (waxes) in comparison with the first. For this reason the fourteenth (day) is pre-festive, as though (it were) a road leading to festive rejoicings, during which it is incumbent upon us to meditate”.

Notice Philo specifically connects the weekly Sabbaths with the waxing and waning of the moon! He says,

and it [the moon] wanes as much in comparison with the preceding Sabbath [weekly Sabbath] as the second [Sabbath] (waxes) in comparison with the first [Sabbath].

He is obviously connecting the weeks and the weekly Sabbath with the moon, same as the Jews admit in the Universal Jewish Encyclopedia.

The traditional solar only Sabbath has absolutely nothing to do with the moon, therefore saturday sabbaths are false sabbaths. The first and second Sabbath takes place during the moon’s waxing and in comparison the other two Sabbaths takes place during the waning of the moon. Philo compares the two motions of the moon, the waxing and waning of the moon, which has 14 days of waxing and 14 days of waning to its conjunction. This which equals 28 days and we know they are approximately 29 and one half days in each month therefore we know the new moon day was not counted in counting out these waxing and waning weeks. If the new moon had been counted, it would be the 8th and 15th spoken of here, which are the two Sabbaths spoken of above, i.e. it was truly the 14th day of waxing, after conjunction, BUT IT WAS ALSO the 8th day of the month/moon.

This explains how that when Philo said

"For when it has become full on the fourteenth (day),”

he is referring to the 14th day of its waxing, after the new moon conjunction, which is really the 15th day of the month/moon. Philo, in so many other places says that the full moon is on the 15th. He goes on to say that

“it becomes full of light in the perception of the people. And again through (another) fourteen (days) it recedes from its fullness of light to its conjunction,”

It is obvious that he is counting from after the new moon day, when the moon begins waxing, because there is only 28 days describe here and there are 29 and one half days in a month/moon, from conjunction to conjunction. This proves there was a dark new moon day that began the month which was not counted in these 28 days or when counting out the weeks.


In the quest for historical evidence as it relates to this subject (LUNAR SABBATHS), we have noticed that Philo is not often mentioned by those who support the tradional Saturday Sabbaths. The writings of Philo are very important for establishing Jewish practice and belief both before and during the Messiah’s time here on earth. Philo lived from approximately 20 BCE until about 50 CE. Thus, his lifetime spanned not only the years prior to the Messiah’s birth, but also the years following His resurrection (not to mention the years in between).

The evidence reveals that Philo’s beliefs were representative of those of Judaism during that period of time. Philo, who was born and raised in Alexandria, Egypt, was one of more than 100,000 Jews living in that city. When the prefect Flaccus initiated a massacre of the Jews in the year 39 CE, Philo was selected to head the Jewish delegation that went to to plead their case before Gaius Caligula.

Please reflect on the significance of Philo’s having been chosen from among his peers for such a monumental task.

Would Philo have been chosen for such a mission “if” his practice and beliefs “had not” squared with those of normative Judaism?

No, he would not have been chosen unless his views matched those of his peers. We know from Philo’s writings that he did (observed) Lunar Sabbaths. If normative Judaism had practiced Saturday Sabbaths while Philo rebelliously observed Lunar weeks and Sabbaths, would this detail have affected their decision to select him to lead a delegation to Rome?

Absolutely.

Sabbath observance is one of the most distinguishing marks of Judaism.

At any rate Philo's statement clearly shows the Weeks and Sabbaths were originally connected to the phases of the moon, same as the Universal Jewish Encyclopedia teaches.

By knowing the truth of the Lunar Sabbath, we no longer have to struggle with trying to reconcile Crucifixion Week with the Gregorian calendar. This is an endless debate that ultimately leads us astray.

The lunar month in scripture has been tracked (or mapped) inspecific half cycles (from the limits of the full-phase and from boundary of the new-phase). The 7th-Day Sabbath (as it was observed under the late Second-Temple) was counted as a quarter-division of the lunar-cycle. '1 of the Sabbatwn' refers to a formal lunar-calendar date and occurres at the epochs of the half-lunar-cycle. It appears in correspondence with the waxing and waning stages of the Moon.

The lunar-half-cycle counts between the occurrences of Newmoon and Fullmoon inherently defines 4 lunar-based weeks in each reoccurring lunar-cycle.

However, '1 of the Sabbatwn' is not yet clearly understood, as we do not know exactly how the authors of the Gospel used this term. The only fact so far is that the expression can be understood in relation to the lunar month. In each of the eight locations where mia ton sabbawn takes place, it makes sense that each of the passages refers to the two weekly Sabbaths during the waxing (Acts 20:7) resp. waning (Mt.28:1) phase of the moon



To be more specific about half-Moon accounting, a day count between waxing and waning stages can especially be recognized from certain of the sea scrolls that were recovered at Qumran.

Scroll 4Q317, in particular, shows the half Moon to have been uniquely tracked in corresponding parts or stages of light and darkness. On this respective scroll, the phases of the Moon (waxing and waning) are clearly mapped throughout 14 parts or stages of light and 14 parts or stages of dark. It is pertinent to note that Scroll 4Q317 (as also previously cited) additionally shows the occurrence of 'Echd BShbt' (or literally, the 'One of the Sabbath') in correspondence with the waxing and waning stages of the Moon.

The early understanding of the term '1 of the Sabbatwn' (as shown on Scroll 4Q317) can hardly have been that of the first day of the literal It is here significant that 14 waxing days and 14 waning days inherently equal a total time span of 28 solar days. A formal count of the month by lunar-stages is further evident from some of the scrolls (which are conspicuous in the usage of no more than a fixed count of 28 days in each lunar cycle). Instead, the reoccurring date '1 of the Sabbatwn' , spaced at 14 ½ day intervals, is indicated to distinctly pertain to the two nodes in opposite halves of the lunar-cycle.

The uniqueness of '1' as a singular date which literally means a 'one' (and 'Sabbatwn' for a lunar-phase event) is significant in the regard that the cited singular date (a 'one') is indicated to have occurred in association with an extended Sabbath interval (at 'Sabbatwn'). This extended Sabbath (a time of plural Sabbaths) could only have occurred at the epoch of the half-lunar-cycle.

There was a common way of counting the lunar cycle over two halves, 14 days of waxing and 14 days of waning of the moon. In between there is a half day as an extended Sabbath period and the subsequent change in observing the beginning of the day. During the waxing moon phase, the day began with the evening (evening to evening), after the full moon night in the middle of the lunar cycle, the beginning of the day then changes to morning (morning to morning), and then begins again in the evening with the sighting of the new crescent moon



14 and a half revealed and Moon rules all Night



14 and a half obscured and Moon rules all Day


Paul was also using YHVH’s calendar after the crucifixion in Acts 20:7. He mentions the first day of the week, which was on the second day of the moon (Acts 20:5-7). Paul’s company sailed away from Philippi after the days of unleavened bread, and came unto them in Troas in five days (26th), where they stayed seven days. The seventh day was the second day of the moon and Paul calls the second day of the moon the first day of the week, and that puts the Sabbaths again on the 8th, 15th, 22nd and 29th.

Begin by counting the 26th as the first day of their stay in Troas, the 27th as the second, the 28th the third, the 29th the fourth, the 30th the fifth, the 1st the sixth, and the 2nd day of the month as the 7th day of the stay and the 1st day of the week. This proves Paul kept the weekly Sabbath on the 8th day of the moon, and then the 15th, 22nd, and 29th. A formal count of the month by lunar-stages is further evident from some of the scrolls (which are conspicuous in the usage of no more than a fixed count of 28 days in each lunar cycle): seven-day week. Instead, the reoccurring date '1 of the Sabbatwn' , spaced at 14 ½ day intervals, is indicated to distinctly pertain to the two nodes in opposite halves of the lunar-cycle.

A continuous weekly cycle without end is one of many of Satan's great deceptions. This cycle never existed at creation. It did not exist until man began tampering with time.

What happens if you break the lunar weeks out of the lunar month and create a second calendar?

You remove the Sun-Moon conjunction dateline created by the Creator.

One thing that a round planet absolutely must have is a point to separate one date from another – an international dateline – since at any given moment there are always two dates active on the globe.

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On the chart above, this dateline is represented on the map – the dateline set by man. By its very definition then, a Saturday Sabbath accepts man’s authority to establish a dateline! If there is a catastrophe, and you were in a shelter underground for an unknown time without windows or clocks, emerging to find no records of the Gregorian date, how would you re-establish the correct Sabbath day?

As unimaginable as such a scenario might be, the purpose of it here is only to underscore how fragile a things man’s counting can be. Would YHVH leave something as important as the Sabbath to the ability of mankind not to loose count? This fragility of man’s ability to keep count must then be seen in the context of who it is who has been controlling calendar development on earth in the first place.

The story of Healing a blind man in the gospel of John begins with a statement made by the Saviour on the sixth day of the week:

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 7:37

The feast here referenced is the Feast of Tabernacles. It states:

Now the Jew's feast of tabernacles was at hand. John 7:2

Feast of Tabernacles is a seven-day feast, followed immediately by the seventh-day Sabbath which is called a holy convocation

Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the feast of tabernacles for seven days unto the Lord. On the first day shall be an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein. Seven days ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord: on the eighth day shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord: it is a solemn assembly; and ye shall do no servile work therein. Lev.23:34-36

Feast of Tabernacles always begins on the 15th day of the seventh month, or, the fifteenth day following New Moon. It is a seven day feast, ending the 21st of the month. Thus, the very next day is a seventh-day Sabbath.

John then tells us that He went to the Mount of Olives, and verse 2 says that early in the morning He came again into the temple and taught (on the 22nd)

Jesus went unto the mount of Olives. 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 8:1-2

V.59 says that He went out of the temple and passed by

Then took they up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by. John 8:59

Next tells of seeing the blind man as He passed by

And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth. John 9:1

It says He made the clay and tells us it was a Sabbath day when he made the clay and healed the blind man

When he had thus spoken, he spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and he anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay,... And it was the sabbath day when Jesus made the clay, and opened his eyes. John 9:6 .14

This places the weekly Sabbaths on the 8th, 15th, 22nd and 29th again.

One may wish to say here that the account of the woman caught in the act of adultery does not belong here in Scripture as it is questionable as to whether or not it was in the original text. However, even if we remove the account the text could still yield a Sabbath on the 22nd seeing that the great day of the feast could possibly be understood as the 22nd instead of the 21st. If this was so, the Messiah would have healed the blind man on the same day that he stood and cried out concerning the Spirit.

Far from disproving the lunar Sabbath, John actually supports it!

Thus saith the Lord G-d; The gate of the inner court that looketh toward the east shall be shut the six working days; but on the sabbath it shall be opened, and in the day of the new moon it shall be opened. And the prince shall enter by the way of the porch of that gate without, and shall stand by the post of the gate, and the priests shall prepare his burnt offering and his peace offerings, and he shall worship at the threshold of the gate: then he shall go forth; but the gate shall not be shut until the evening. 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. Ez.46:1-3

The gate of the inner court of YHVH which looked toward the east was to be (and will be in the future) shut during the six workdays of the week, but this same gate was to be open on the day of the Sabbath and the day of the New Moon.

As the passage states, the day of the New Moon was not an ordinary working day, but instead is separate and distinct from both the working days and the weekly Sabbath. The day of the New Moon was to be a day of worship to YHVH, not only then (and now), but also at a future time in the new heavens and new earth wherein dwells righteousness

For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the Lord, so shall your seed and your name remain. 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. Isa.66:22-23

In this true Sabbath reckoning you will have the day of the New Moon, which is followed by six working days. The six working days are then followed by the seventh day Sabbath. This working day - Sabbath sequence occurs four times each month and then re-starts itself with the day of the New Moon.

The oldest calendar recorded can be found in the first book of Scripture in Genesis. This passage speaks of the two great lights in the heavens, along with the stars

And G-d said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so. And G-d made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also. Gen.1:14-16

Is it possible that we can look to the natural creation of YHVH to find a Scriptural week?

I believe it is very possible and can be borne out by the testimony of Scripture. The weekly rest of YHVH is first mentioned in the book of Genesis and the remedy to finding when it occurs is found very simply. Genesis 1:14 does say that seasons were to be found by these great lights. The word season here has the meaning of appointments or festivals, taken from the Hebrew word moedim.

As you read the definition given by this Hebrew lexicon, ask yourself this question: does the weekly Sabbath fit the definition of an appointment or a fixed time? Does it fit the prescribed definition of a moed?

For true time keeping, you must have a starting point or conjunction in nature, the nature that YHVH created and made. If man sets the starting point for a time, then it is artificial time, and most assuredly not authentic, Scriptural time. We indeed do find in nature a phenomenon for the weekly Sabbath. The moon follows a pattern of seven-day intervals. This is seen by observing the New Moon, first quarter, full moon, last quarter, and last sliver of the moon. The moon conjuncts at each of these events in nature and gives us a starting point for counting our weeks and numbering our days. Philo understood and recorded this phenomenon in his writings ON THE CREATION

XXXIV. (101) For she increases from her first crescent-shaped figure, to that of a half circle in seven days; and in seven more, she becomes a full orb; and then again she turns back, retracing the same path, like a runner of the diaulos, receding from an orb full of light, to a half circle again in seven days, and lastly, in an equal number she diminishes from a half circle to the form of a crescent;

All the other appointed times of the Creator we were keeping were found by His time-keeping devices in heaven. At the same time we were attempting to find His set-apart weekly Sabbath day by a man-made calendar. We should abolish the Roman-Julian-Gregorian calendar count and keep YHVH’s calendar recorded in the book of beginnings for true time keeping.

The Creator’s purpose for placing the great luminaries in the sky is to govern our TIME (and calendars).

Have you ever thought about what the definition of “time” is?

The Universal definition is:

“Movement plus conjunction of the heavenly luminaries”.

Logical. Without the movement of the celestial bodies, i.e., sun, moon and stars, we wouldn't really have any concept of how much "time" was passing.

The Universal definition of "calendar" is:

"the means of ordering the year by the designation of spaces of time, such as days weeks, months and so on”

Now let's think logically:

Since a "year" is a space of "time" and time is originated in the movement of the heavenly luminaries, what is the most logical "means of ordering the year"?

Of course, the answer is "by the heavenly luminaries".

The next logical questions are:

Is a month a space of time? Is a day a space of time? Is a week a space of time?

If "time" comes from the heavenly luminaries, then how else would or should these spaces of "time" be determined?

This is precisely the meaning of Genesis 1:14:

And G-d said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: Gen.1:14

The Creator of heaven and earth is the Supreme and Sovereign designer of how nature works. The luminaries are perfectly capable of counting days, months, years AND weeks, without the assistance of humans. If your calendar beliefs and practices are not based in the movements and patterns of YHVH time-keeping entities, but in man-made, invalid "counts", then you have NO real way to know you are on "true" time.


We cannot possibly know what day is truly the Sabbath on this man made system given the amount of manipulation and corruption that has been inflicted upon time and laws.

HOWEVER, our Creator YHVH says we are to KNOW for sure. Look:

And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the Lord that doth sanctify you. Ex.31:12-13

How can we KNOW that the Sabbath we keep is from YHVH?

Because it is set in the luminaries (Moon) where mankind cannot touch it!!!!

On earth, men can draw imginary line, set laws in conferences and make calendars and deceive the masses. But if we only "look up", Halleluyah! We cannot be fooled by Satan's tricks. There is NOTHING man can do to manipulate, corrupt, change or otherwise mess with the lights in the sky!

You want to KNOW the Sabbath you keep is of YHVH? Keep it by the Moon (light) in the heaven. YHVH has designed the heavens to keep track of ALL time, especially the Sabbath.

When Comparing Joshua 5:10-12 with Leviticus 23:10-14 which says to wave the sheaf on the morrow after the Sabbath, we find that the Passover was on Day 14 and that the wave sheaf was performed the Day after the Sabbath ( Day 16). This proves that Day 15 in Joshua 5:11 was the weekly Sabbath.

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.23:11

And the children of Israel encamped in Gilgal, and kept the passover on the fourteenth day of the month even in the plains of Jericho. And they did eat the old corn of the land on the morrow after the passover, unleavened cakes, and parched corn in the same day. And the manna ceased on the morning after they had eaten 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. Josh.5:10-12

V.10 says that Passover was on Day 14.
V.11 says that on Day 15t they ate from the old corn of the land, we know that Day 15 is the Sabbath from Leviticus 23:11.
V.12 says that manna ceased on Day 16 which was Day 1/week, and not on Day 15.






In Mark we read:

And now when the even was come, because it was the preparation, that is, the day before the sabbath, Mk.15:42 KJV

The word for sabbath here is Strongs #G4315 prosabbaton.

There are three annual biblical dates (moedim) that are not considered Shabbaton. These includes the 1st and 7th days of Chag HaMatzot (Feast of Unleavened Bread).

The BDB Hebrew Lexicon also lists not these two Days, rather the following

A. The weekly Sabbath
B. the Feast of Trumpets
C. Day of Atonement
D. The first and last day of the Feast of Tabernacles
E. Sabbath year

You now know without any doubt that the Day on which Jesus was in grave has been the weekly Sabbath.


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Once again you have drawn the worst possible card, because you are arguing against the Most High Himself.

Consider the following biblical facts about the LORD’s calendar:

Manna was given for five days with a double portion on the 6th day of the week. None was provided on the 7th day Sabbath.
The schedule of the manna provided illustrated full, complete weeks, thus defining the LORD’s calendar and its Sabbaths.
The LORD would have undermined and subverted His own calendar if He were to cause the manna to cease randomly and start again randomly.
The 14th day of the 1st month forty years after the Exodus was the last day that manna was provided with its double portions for the Sabbath, completing a full week.
No food preparation was to be done on a 7th day Sabbath (8th, 15th, 22nd, & 29th days of the month).
The 15th was the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread which made it a feast Sabbath.
The Israelites ate unleavened bread on the 15th which had been prepared on the day before on the 14th.
On the Sabbath Day, no manna was provided, but the extra portion gathered the previous day did not go bad as it would have on any other day. (Exodus 16:22-24)
On that Sabbath in the Promised Land, Israel’s diet consisted of unleavened bread and parched corn from the fields.
For decades on the first day of each week, it was expected that manna would fall again after the Sabbath Day where no manna was provided.
It is clearly stated in scripture that the manna “ceased on the morrow after they had eaten the old corn of the land.” (Joshua 5:12)
The Israelites had eaten the old corn of the land the day before on the 15th along with their unleavened bread which was prepared the day before that on the 14th. (Joshua 5:10-11)
On the 15th day, no manna had been given.
There was only one day when the manna could officially cease. It could not cease on the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, or 5th day of the week because the schedule illustrated complete weeks consistently. It could not cease on the 6th day because there would be no unleavened bread for the Sabbath. The only day for it to noticeably cease was the first day of the week.
The manna noticeably ceased on the 16th day when it had consistently been expected to commence for the week. This illustrates that the 16th day of the month is always the 1st day of the week.
The 16th being the 1st day of the week verifies that the 15th is always the 7th day Sabbath according to the count from the New Moon Day.



It can be argued that the Wave Sheaf Offering did not actually occur at this time. It is widely assumed that the Wave Sheaf Offering took place between Jos 5:10 and 5:11, since the Passover was celebrated in v10 and then the Israelites ate of the grain of the land in v11. However, we need to look closely at the requirements of the Wave Sheaf Offering to see if it would have been possible for them to observe it at this time in question.

Three times thou shalt keep a feast unto me in the year. Thou shalt keep the feast of unleavened bread: (thou shalt eat unleavened bread seven days, as I commanded thee, in the time appointed of the month Abib; for in it thou camest out from Egypt: and none shall appear before me empty:) And the feast of harvest, the firstfruits of thy labours, which thou hast sown in the field: and the feast of ingathering, which is in the end of the year, when thou hast gathered in thy labours out of the field. (Exo 23:14-16)

Exodus 23:16 specifies that the Feast of Harvest (i.e., the Wave Sheaf Offering) was to be offered from grain produced "of thy labors" and "which thou hast sown in the field". If the Israelites had just arrived in the land, and were eating grain that had been planted by the peoples which they had driven out, then a sacrifice of that grain would not meet this requirement. Furthermore, Leviticus 22:25 also specifies that an offering "from a stranger's hand" is not acceptable:

Ye shall not offer unto the LORD that which is bruised, or crushed, or broken, or cut; neither shall ye make any offering thereof in your land. Neither from a stranger's hand shall ye offer the bread of your God of any of these; because their corruption is in them, and blemishes be in them: they shall not be accepted for you.(Lev 22:24-25)

Therefore it is possible that the Wave Sheaf Offering was not offered at this time, due to the fact that the Israelites had not planted this grain themselves but had taken it from foreigners.

Do we find worship taking place on the fourth day? No.
Do we find worship taking place on the first day (Gen.1:1) Yes.

Worship took place in the beginning

Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding. When the morning stars sang together [= worship], and all the sons of G-d shouted for joy [= worship]? Job.38:4 .7

In Job we see that worship took place in Gen.1:1, when the earth was created. Once again, the scriptures support the understanding, that the moon was created in the beginning along with the heavens and earth. No worship took place on the 4th day when many erroneously suppose that the moon was created. It was a workday, not a New Moon worship day.

In Job we‘ re told the morning stars sang together when the foundations of the earth were laid. The stars of Job.38:7a, kokab, are described by the same Hebrew word as the stars of Gen..1:14-16. How can the stars be singing when the foundation of the earth was laid (Gen.1:1) if the stars had not been created till the fourth day?

In the beginning G-d created the heaven and the earth Gen.1:1

The word beginning denotes time.

You cannot have the first day of the month or the first three days of creation, which are time related events, without planetary motion.

Time has always been kept by the sun, moon and stars.

So, since time began with the creation of the heavens and earth („In the beginning“) then it stands to reason that the sun, moon and stars were in place at that time (altough the sun was not lit till the next day).

The first day of every biblical months is the New Moon Day (Rosh Codesh). You cannot have a first day of the first „month“ without a moon (the English word „month“ is derived from the word „moon“).

This should reasonably demonstrate that the moon was created on the first day, not the fourth day.

When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; Ps.8:3

Here we are told that the moon and the stars, the work of G-d‘s fingers were ordained together when He created the heavens in Gen.1:1. By definition, the heavens include the sun, moon and stars.

The hebrew word for „ordain“, kun, means to prepare, fashion or bring into being.

This passage implies that the moon as well as the stars were ordained together at the laying of the foundation of the earth (Job.38:4a .7a).

And G-d said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: Gen.1:14

Separate according to Elohim‘s word in Gen.1:14, the lights in the heavens (the sun and the moon) were appointed to separate the light from the darkness (Gen.1:14).

To have anything separate the day and night other than the sun and the moon would be to contradict Genesis 1:14 which tells us the sun and moon were ordained for that purpose.

...let them (plural) Gen.1:14

Everything must be established by two or three witnesses (Deut.17:6; Mt.18:16).

Determining the weekly Sabbaths by counting every 7 days (by the sun) is to have onnly one witness (i.e. sun) contrary to scripture.

However, having both the sun and the moon meets the scriptural requirement of two witnesses.

And G-d made two great lights; the greater light [sun] to rule [govern] the day, and the lesser light [moon] to rule [govern] the night: Gen.1:16a

Gen.1:16 states that the greater light (the sun) was to govern the Days and the lesser light (the moon) was to govern the Nights.

The sun is an integral part of the of what constitutes a day since it governs the day.

How can you have the first three days of the first month without the sun governing and not contradict Gen.1:16?

The sun and the moon were created in beginning, not the fourth day. Their time keeping purposes were revealed or made known on the fourth day.

And the evening and the morning were the first day ...the second day …the third day. Gen. 1:5b .8b .13b

Three days could not have passed before the sun and moon were created. If the moon was created on the fourth day, as some suppose, that would mean that the fourth day is a New Moon day or the beginning of a new Month. This, of course, would be impossible, because you cannot have the first month underway for three days and nights if the sun and the moon which defines the days and nights did not come into being till the fourth day. Therefore, we can reasonably conclude the moon was created in the beginning (Gen.1:1).


Some speculate that the moon was created the fourth day reflecting a fourth day‘s phase. Elohim makes all things new. He does not create a moon in its fourth day phase implying there was a first day phase even though it never existed. This would serve only to add confusion upon confusion.

The light of the first three days was not the glory of YHVH. The whole creation week was focused on what Elohim created in the natural or physical realm.
To substitute spiritual light (Glory of YAH) for natural light (sun) for the first three days does not make sense and violates every principle of good hermeneutics (interpretation of scripture).

G-d‘s glory is not subject to the laws of physics like the sun is. His glory does not turn on during the day and turn off during the night according to the revolution of the earth. G-d‘s glory did not have to be created (Gen.1:5) or commanded to turn on as if it was previously turned off. G-d and His glory are inseparable. If G-d was in existence so was light of His Glory before He commanded

Let there be light: Gen.1:3b

When Elohim‘s Glory is present there is no night or darkness (Rev.22:5). Since night (darkness) was obviously in existence for the first three days/night cycles of creation, the Glory of YHVH could not have been the light for the first three days of creation because darkness was present. Those that maintain that the moon was created on the fourth day are saying that the moon was reflecting the Glory of G-d for the first three nights which is absurd.

Elohim (i.e. His Glory/light or the light of the Lamb) has no darkness in Him per 1 Jhn.1:5. However, the transition periods (evening and morning) between day and night is a mixture of both darkness and light. Therefore, it cannot be the Glory of YAH because that would require mixing G-d‘s light with darkness to create the transitions periods (evening and morning) for the first three days of creation. Elohim does not condone mixture.