The Saturday Sabbath Calendar Conundrum

Saturday Sabbath: Another Conundrum

Midnight in the Calendar Wars

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 fully keeping the full Saturday Sabbath, which according to the calendar they are using, would not end until midnight Saturday.

The only apparent solution for this seemingly sticky problem, is not only to observe the correct biblical  calendar, but to observe the correct Sabbath day as well; the one the Creator has outlined in His word.

Will the traditional Count to Pentecost stand up to scrutiny?

True Count to Pentecost: Questions that must be answered

Questions that need to be answered if the traditional count to Pentecost is to be upheld.

When did the Israelites arrive at Mt Sinai?

According to scripture the Israelites arrived on the 15^th day of the 3^rd month. This is 7 days after the traditional count to Pentecost, on Sivan 9. Why would they arrive at Mt Sinai to receive the law after the time when the giving of the law is allegedly related to? Moses is called before YHWH on the 16^th day, to have the people prepare themselves for the verbal giving of the law. (Jubilees 1:1) Granted the law, including the 10 commandments, is verbalized by YHWH on the 18^th day of the 3^rd month, but this is still after the fact, now 10 days after the traditional Pentecost of Sivan 9. Because of  being pinpointed on the 1^st day of the 2^nd week, this does not make the 9^th day of the 3^rd month very specifically related to anything.

No Feast mentioned during the third month in Exodus

If the traditional Pentecost count is the 9^th day of the 3^rd month, why is there no mention of the word “feast” or “chag” around that time in Exodus 16-19, but there is mention of “feast” 50 days later from Sivan in Exodus 32? The feast mentioned in Ex 32 is at the very end of the 4^th month, when Aaron declares a feast, and when Moses comes down from the mount after 40 days. with the tables of the testimony. (NOTE: chag, ḥag̱: H2282. A noun meaning a feast, a festival. This word is used numerous times throughout the Old Testament referring to the feasts of the Hebrew religious calendar. It is used of the major feasts, including the Feast of Unleavened Bread and the Passover Feast, the Feast of Weeks, and the Feast of Tabernacles. Complete Word Study H2282)

What happened to the wheat in the “plague of hail.”

Exodus 9:18-35 says this about the wheat. The plague of hail smote every herb of the field, broke every tree. Flax and barley were smitten; wheat and rye were not smitten, for they were not grown up (not out of the ground). Winter wheat would have been destroyed; spring wheat had not yet been planted. So if there is no wheat harmed by the hail, what is the wheat that is supposed to be harvested around Sivan 9, just a little over two months or so later?

What is the wheat that was supposed to be harvested in the 3^rd month?

Winter wheat is planted in the fall, takes 7 months to harvest, would have been ready in the 3^rd month, were it not for the hail. By the time of the hail, about 4 months or so into the growth cycle, winter wheat would have been substantially out of the ground, that it would have been destroyed during the plague of hail. At the time of the hail, it was nearing the planting time of the spring wheat, which planted in the first week or so of Nisan, would be harvested in 4 months, 110-120 day to maturity.

Is Pentecost related to the giving of the law?

It is said that Pentecost is related to the giving of the law. If this is the case, why isn’t the giving of the law in Exodus mentioned around the first week of the 3^rd month, the time of the traditional Pentecost of the 9^th day of the 3^rd month? Granted, the law was spoken from the mount by YHWH on the 18^th day of the 3^rd month, but there is no mention of a feast here. Why is there no mention of a feast, if Pentecost is related to the giving of the law?

When was the law on the tables of stone given?

Although the law was spoken on the 18^th day of the 3^rd month (third day after arrival at the mount) , Moses doesn’t come down from the mount with the tables of stone until 41 days after the law is spoken. He goes up the mount on the 19^th day of the 3^rd month, to begin the 40 days, and doesn’t come down until the 29^th day of the 4^th month, the day Aaron declared a feast (chag).

How many died; how many saved

Acts 2:41 states that 3000 souls were saved on the day of Pentecost in the NT. In the Old Testament, that same identical number is used to declare that 3000 souls were lost or died. (Exodus 32) When did this happen. It happened on the day Moses came down from the mount with the tables of stone; at the very end of the 4^th month, on the 29^th day, ironically, 50 days from the end of the seven Sabbaths complete. There is no mention of 3000 dying in the early 3^rd month, at the time of the traditional Pentecost. Is this number just coincidental, while occurring at the same feast time in the OT and NT?

When was the healing of the paralytic in the NT?

In John 5, we have the account of Jesus healing the paralytic on the Sabbath and then being confronted by the Pharisees for doing so. When did this occur. A close read of John 5 will reveal that this occurred during a feast, one of the 3 annual chags. This appears to be after the time of Jesus first appearance in the temple, around Passover, so it is a bit later in the year, at a feast, (chag) which is very likely Pentecost. Passover is earlier during the year John 2:13, and Tabernacles later, John 7:2. Notice that the healing of the paralytic took place on a Sabbath, which pinpoints it on the 29^th day of the 4^th month, the same day Moses came down from the mount with the tables of stone.

Is the traditional Pentecost on a Sabbath?

Why does the traditional count of Pentecost not correlate with the rest of the annual feasts, which have Sabbaths as part of the theme? If we follow the count of the days and periods of time in Exodus 12 through 32, we find that the count will pinpoint the 29^th day of the 4^th month, a Sabbath. The traditional count to Pentecost bring us out on the 1^st day of the 1^st week of the 3^rd month, which appears to have no scriptural significance to the rest of the annual feast plan.

Where is the 50 day count applied?

If the 50 days is from Nisan 16 to Sivan 9, where is the mention of Pentecost in Exodus at the corresponding time? (somewhere between Exodus 16 and 19) Leviticus says to count these days, but it is unclear where the count is anchored and there is confusion where the 50 days is counted from. If we look in Exodus 12 through 32, and follow the count, we find that “coincidentally” there is 50 days from the end of the seven Sabbaths complete to the end of the 4^th month on the 29^th day, were a “feast” is mentioned. Could this be more than just coincidence.

Where does Ellen White place the wheat harvest of Pentecost

Ellen White uses the terms springtime, midsummer, and autumn to describe the times of the three annual feasts. Midsummer is not in the springtime, during the 1^st week or so of the 3^rd month, usually in early June. Midsummer could be described as sometime during July and August, more likely midsummer.

“But three times a year seasons were appointed for social intercourse and worship. The journey to Jerusalem, in the simple, patriarchal style, took place amidst the beauty of the springtime, the richness of midsummer, or the ripened glory of autumn.” Compiled from Educ pgs 41-42 EGW

Although much confusion and controversy continues regarding the count to Pentecost, there are some serious questions and problems with the traditional count that need to be addressed. There are issues that are not easily resolved with the traditional count, whereas the pieces of the puzzle seem to fit together much better with a count that ends at the very end of the 4^th month. So lets settle in, knuckle under, and let YHWH’s spirit lead in this matter. Let the scriptures, all the related ones, speak for themselves.

NEW LUNAR SABBATH DISCUSSON GROUP AT FACEBOOK

New Discussion Group at FACEBOOK: 
Lunar Sabbath Adventist

If you would like to be part of the discussion of the lunar sabbath and calendar as it relates to Seventh Day Adventists, come join us on Facebook at 

https://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/groups/240032266015640?ap=1

Any and all are welcome to the discussion, or just to observe.

Blessings in the name of Yahushua

4th Month YHWH's Calendar July 2011-2012

NOTE: Count to Pentecost still under study and review. See preliminary post here:  What is the True Count to Pentecost?

Notes regarding this months calendar:Even though the Count to Pentecost is still under study and review, this months calendar shows the full count as reviewed, on the 29th day of the 4th month, the last Shabbat of the 4th month. 

You will also note the small blue numbers in the upper right corners of each day. These are the counting of the 50 days from the Feast of Weeks at the end of  "Seven Sabbaths complete," which ends on the 8th day of the 3rd month, the Shabbat of the 8th day of the month.

When you count 7 Sabbaths complete, from the Wave Sheaf on the 16th day of the 1st month, then count and add 50 days to the 7 Sabbaths complete, the total is 99 days (49 and 50) and ends the count on the 28th day of the 4th month, the next day being the feast (chag)

Further info to come as study and review of the Count to Pentecost continue.

What is the True Count to Pentecost?

Count to Pentecost: Re-Examined

It's not where we think!

After a reasonably thorough study of the count to Pentecost, or the count to the Feast of Weeks, it is my conclusion that Pentecost is not where we have traditionally pinpointed it and kept it, in the 3rd month (Sivan), on the 6th, 7th, 8th, or 9th day, depending on whose rules you used and how you do the count. 

This count, and the day it results on, using the traditional count, have never made much sense to me, as it doesn't occur on a day of any significance other than the first day of the week, the day following "seven Sabbaths complete." So these seemingly insignificant points have kept me troubled until I set about to study it out to conviction. 

Another contradiction in the count has to do with the calendar you use. If you don't use the correct calendar, the lunar-solar calendar of scripture, you won't find the correct day. Here's is what I've found. And I reserve the right to be corrected if necessary.

When is the REAL Pentecost?

Pentecost is actually found on the 29th day of the 4th month, a Shabbat; the last Shabbat of the 4th month. This is the day that Aaron declared in Exodus 32:5, that "tomorrow is a feast." He made this declaration on the day before the feast, the 28th day of the 4th month, the day that the "count 50 days" ends. This word feast, is "chag," one of the 3 appointed feasts of the year that all were supposed to appear before YHWH. Since the Feast of ULB occurred when they left Egypt, and the Feast of Tabernacles is yet in the fall, that leaves only one other Feast this could be; the Feast of Weeks, or Pentecost.

In order to determine the correct count, there are several things that have to be examined. First is the count of the days that are mentioned in Exodus, beginning in Chapter 19, on the day the Israelites arrived at the mount. One needs to pay close attention to the days that are numbered and listed there, including the 40 days and 40 nights that Moses was in the mount. Some of these days mentioned are very subtle and can be easily missed.

There are other factors involved in the correct count to Pentecost, including the "agricultural" aspect, which Yah's entire feast calendar plan is based on. There is also a correlation between the number of 3000 souls that died on the same day as there were 3000 saved in the New Testament.

I will be working on a paper to post here, detailing this re-examined count to Pentecost, so I won't go into a lot of detail right now. I would encourage each of you reading this to begin this study for yourselves. Begin reading at Exodus chapter 19, and read through chapter 32. You may want to skip over the instructions for all the commandments, statutes, judgments, etc, if you are in a hurry to find just the count.

And, next months calendar will reflect Pentecost on the day that is pinpointed in scripture. 

If you are interested, I have found two excellent studies that I am willing to send if you will send me your email. I also plan to link these studies in a future post.

May YHWH bless each of you as you continue to seek His whole truth.

3rd Month Sivan YHWH's Calendar June-July 2011-2012

This calendar was revised on Jun 28 2011 to show 30 days in the 3rd month. Although Pentecost has been studied and found to be in the 4th month, it is left in place here in the traditionally understood date.

NOTE: Pentecost is shown on the traditional Jewish Calendar date of Sivan 9 (sunset June 10 to sunset June 11), without including man-made Judaic POSTPONEMENTS. Pentecost timing is still under consideration by this author, as there exists the possibility that Pentecost occurs in the 4th month during harvest. Scriptural and logical arguments are made on both sides. Study of Pentecost still under review.

Yahuwah's Calendar 2nd Month Zif May-Jun 2011