6th Chodesh *Elul* Sep-Oct 2013-2014

Correction: I just noticed that I had a couple of days wrong at the end of the 6th month, showing Sep 4 and 5, instead of Oct 4 and 5. The oversight has been corrected.

...WARNING...

There is a glaring anomaly in the 6th month calendar presented here below. It has to do with the lunar orbit, and presents some rather unusual circumstances. This is the first time I've encountered this issue so dramatically. So let's give it some explanation.

Usually, in the transition between the 14th and 15th day, the moon rises about the time of sunset, plus or minus a few minutes or so. This month, it does not. The moon rises about 10 minutes before sunset on Sept 19, at the beginning of the 14th lunar day, instead of the 15th lunar day. This anomaly occurs 1 day, 4 hours, and 26 minutes earlier than it normally would, from the time of the full moon until near the beginning of the 15th lunar day at sunset. There is an explanation for this, and it shouldn't affect the days of the calendar for the month, including Shabbat.

What appears to cause this anomaly this next month is the length of the lunar orbit. The first half of the month is shorter than the last half of the month. Perigee, which occurs in the first half of the month on Sept 15, is when the moon is closer to the earth, meaning the orbit is shorter and will occur faster. This is why the period between conjunction and the full moon is shorter than usual.

In the last half of the month, Apogee occurs on Sept 27. This means the moon is farther than usual from the earth causing the orbit to be a bit longer. I won't bore you with the actual time differences. If you are interested, send me an email and I'll provide further info. Please feel free to send me an email if you have any questions about this. Also, let me know if you notice any problems with what is presented here.

Can Saturday as the 7th Day Sabbath Be Found on Yahweh's Calendar?

“Six Days Shalt Thou Labour…”

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. (Exo 20:8-11)

Introduction

Midnight in the Calendar Wars

This paper is directed specifically to those that are observing, or have returned to observing the Appointed Times or Feast Days of Yahweh, as detailed in the Torah, but at the same time are keeping Saturday on the Gregorian Calendar as the 7^th Day Sabbath. Problems that are encountered when following this format are generally out lined in this paper.

In the ongoing study of Yahweh’s Torah, specifically His Calendar and 7^th day Sabbath, there are many differing positions. One of the biggest questions raised is this; is the 7^th day Sabbath found on the Creator’s Lunar-Solar Calendar, or is it found on the Papal Gregorian Calendar. To put it another way, is the 7^th day Sabbath determined by the moon each month, according to the Torah, or is it on Saturday on the popular calendar in use since 1582? There are folks keeping it both ways today. But which one is correct? What happens when you impose Saturday as the 7^th day Sabbath on the gregorian calendar, and instead place it within Yahweh’s holy days on His luni-solar calendar?

The purpose of this paper is to address only a couple of aspects of these questions.

The Problems

The Saturday Sabbath

Let’s begin with the first of these anomalies, Saturday as the 7^th day Sabbath. Those who adhere to Saturday as the 7^th day Sabbath on the Papal Gregorian Calendar generally observe Sabbath from sundown Friday evening until sundown Saturday evening. They believe they are keeping the 7^th day of the week as the 7^th day Sabbath. But are they?

Since Saturday Sabbath keepers observe their Sabbath by pointing to the roman gregorian calendar for the day, why don’t they observe time by the same calendar? Saturday on the roman gregorian calendar begins, and ends, at midnight; midnight to midnight. Period.

Since most, if not all, Saturday Sabbath keepers begin their Sabbath the night before at sunset Friday, they are actually keeping their Sabbath partially on Friday and partially on Saturday; according to the calendar they are using.

So they, Saturday Sabbath keepers, are not actually keeping Sabbath on the 7^th day of the week at all. At least not all of it. They are keeping it partially on the 6^th day, or preparation day (of their calendar), and only partially on the 7^th day. This according to the calendar they claim they are keeping Sabbath on.

Let’s follow up this thought about part of one day and part of another. Saturday Sabbath keepers, by observing sunset to sunset of the biblical Hebrew day, are actually beginning their “Sabbath” on one calendar, the lunisolar calendar of scripture, and ending their Sabbath on another calendar, the roman gregorian. It is the blending of more than one system, in several ways. But there is a catch here. If the Saturday Sabbath keepers are ending their 7^th day Sabbath at sundown Saturday, they are not  keeping the full Saturday Sabbath, which according to the calendar they are using, would not end until midnight Saturday.

We’ll leave this “conumdrum” for now, for you to ponder. If you are observing 7^th day Sabbath from sundown Friday until sundown Saturday, are you truly keeping the 7^th day sabbath, as Yahweh intended?

The Six Day Work Week Problem: Feasts Days and Saturdays Don’t’ Mix  Observing Yahweh’s Feast Days and the Papal  Saturday

There is a hidden problem here for those folks that are observing and keeping Yahweh’s Holy Days or Feast Days, and at the same time keeping the 7^th Day Saturday on the Papal Gregorian Calendar. The problem makes itself known usually twice during the scriptural year; once in the spring during the Days of Unleavened Bread, and again in the fall during the Days of Tabernacles. Most times it happens twice in a year, but sometimes only once. The Torah says “six days shalt thou labour…” but are these adherents in harmony with the scriptures? Lets take a look.

The first problem during the year occurs during the Days of Unleavened Bread. The first day of Unleavened Bread occurs on the 15^th day of the biblical month, and is the “chag” or feast described in scripture. Although the 15^th day is the only “chag” or feast described in this scenario, there are a total of 7 days that Unleavened Bread is to be consumed. See Leviticus 23 and others pinpointing this “chag” (feast) on the 15^th day.

The Feast of Unleavened Bread occurs on the 15^th day, and unleavened bread is eaten for 7 days; the 15^th through the 21^st.

7 Days of Unleavened Bread

The first day of unleavened bread is the 7^th day Sabbath. The next 6 days are the six work days of scripture; “Six days shalt thou labour…” The next day following the six work days is the 7^th day Sabbath of scripture, the 22^nd day of the month. All 7^th Day Sabbaths in scripture are found on four (4) specific days; the 8^th, 15^th, 22^nd, and 29^th days of the lunar calendar month. With the Days of Unleavened Bread, we find the 7^th day Sabbaths, 15^th and 22^nd, as bookends to the 6 day work week.

Enter the problem. What happens when Saturday, posing as the 7^th day Sabbath, falls on one of the 6 work days during the days of unleavened bread? The answer is simple. You no longer have 6 work days in that week.

Days of Unleavened Bread (1^st month of biblical year)

This same problem occurs during the Days of Tabernacles in the fall of the biblical year. At times, Saturday falls on the same days as the 15^th and the 22^nd, so it does not make the case for interrupting the 6 day work week. But it is the exception and not the rule. Most of the time, Saturday will fall on one of the 6 work days during either the Days of Unleavened Bread, or the Days of Tabernacles.

There are several groups observing this arrangement today, that of keeping the Feast Days according to the lunar-solar calendar, and at the same time, observing Saturday, presenting itself as the 7^th day Sabbath. They include some Messianic groups, some Church of God groups, Several SDA groups and others. But because they are so large in number, does that make them right. Are they observing scripture to the fullest?

If we are going to follow our Creator fully, we need to put all of His Feast Days, including the 7^th Day Sabbath, on the same calendar; the lunar-solar calendar of scripture. Leviticus 23 makes it very clear that the 7^th Day Sabbath is the first of these Feasts, or appointed times. The 7^th Day Sabbath should not be ripped out of the Leviticus list and placed errantly on the papal gregorian calendar. It is blasphemy of the highest order. Does Saturday then become the “golden calf” of modern Israel?

Paul W Puckett

August 2013