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.