Berean Commandment Keepers

Transcription

1 This is a rebuttal to 1 chapter of an "booklet" that Everett Anderson wrote against several different religions and beliefs. The chapters are entitled: End Time Prophet; Prophets of Satan; Jehovah s Witnesses; Mormon s, Latter-day Saints; Seventh Day Adventists; Sunday Keepers; Seven-day (sic) Adventist Church; World s Last Chance and Messianic s. His entire booklet can be found here: I have no idea why the Seventh-Day Adventists and the Adventist church each got their own chapter (divided by a chapter on Sunday keepers). I am actually interested in what Bro. Anderson might say in some of these other chapters, but my focus in this rebuttal will be on the chapter entitled World's Last Chance, which is Lunar Sabbath promoting website. I do not agree with all of the conclusions presented by World's Last Chance (WLC), but they are Lunar Sabbath keepers, so I've got their back. I do not know if WLC even knows this e-booklet article against them exists. While reading neither jot nor tittle of this chapter ahead of time, I can assure you that Bro. Anderson will do no damage to the Calendar established at Creation or the Lunar Sabbath. He writes primarily in black with a little red and dark blue. I will respond in orange [bracketed in orange] in mid-paragraph, along with bright blue, green and a little purple. Dated: Berean Commandment Keepers Problems With: World s Last Chance.org There is nothing wrong with the WLC.org people! I am pleased that Bro. Anderson opens by offering an olive branch of sorts. He is stating that he has no ought against the people, he is "attacking" what he feels is a false doctrine. For the record, this is the same position I take in my rebuttals posted in the Hall of Shame. At the end, I am not always feeling the same spirit as when I begin, but unless provoked otherwise, I stay focused on the false doctrine. In my opinion, Bro. Anderson has already earned brownie points, and perhaps a pass if he later takes a swipe at the people behind the WLC website. Let's see how this plays out... They believe in following most of Yahuah s laws; [most? I presume Bro. Anderson will elaborate later, but this is an unsubstantiated claim at this point] however, they only present four (4) scriptures to try to prove that we are to keep a lunar calendar system [so, what's the problem? All that is required is 2-3 witnesses. They have offered 4.] which is based on the first new moon being the first day of the month, which is followed by the first day of the. These scriptures do not provide sound doctrine for this.

2 I don't know which Scriptures Bro. Anderson is referring to yet, and if he does not share them with his readers, I will. Scripture DOES provide evidence for the Lunar Sabbath. Plenty of it. First major error is: Lunar Calendar is a Doctrine of Man This is not clear to me. If the Lunar Calendar is a doctrine of men, then, yes, it is in error. However, WLC does not believe it is a doctrine of men, so Bro. Anderson's charge is a bit confusing. Second major error is: They kept Sunset to Sunset instead of Dawn to Dusk. Oh, I see now. These are errors as Bro. Anderson sees them, not what WLC believes. For the record, the day begins at dawn, not sunset. Please see the study at this link for an in-depth look at this issue: Lest it never occurred to Bro. Anderson... Genesis 1:5 And Elohim called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day. The lit portion of the cycle is called Day, and the dark portion is called Night. Why does Bro. Anderson believe that the Day (the lit part) begins at Night (the dark part)? There is even a warning in Scripture for those who cannot seem to get this straight... Isaiah 5:20 Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! One minor error is: Their End Time Events are close but not quite right. (See The Last 1335 Days Section 7) WLC's interpretation of end time events is not in trial here. However, if Bro. Anderson later elaborates on this charge against WLC, I will not object. If I can defend WLC, I will. If they are in error, I will cast my vote with Anderson. Lunar Calendar There is no scriptural evidence to support lunar calendar belief. Isa. 8:20 To the law and to the testimony, if they do not speak according to this word, (Scriptures Only) it is because there is no light in them. I agree that Isaiah 8:20 is the gold standard for revealing the truth, but SAYING that WLC has no evidence and proving they have no evidence are two different things. I am still waiting for this "evidence". If the Lunar system was correct in 325 AD, then the Pope would not have to change the ly Sabbath worship to Sunday worship, because the Jew s were already worshiping on the ly cycle Sabbath rather than the Lunar Sabbath monthly cycle. 2

3 Oh my. This is rather unexpectedly sad. There were no Popes in A.D 325, and the calendars the Popes did change were the ROMAN calendars, not the Hebrew calendars. This title ("Pope") was not official until after A.D If this is the level of investigation that Bro. Anderson has brought to this article, this is going to be more tedious than I first imagined. And the change made by the emperor Constantine in A.D. 321 had nothing to do with a Lunar Calendar. In the first century, Rome had an 8 day market. This was gradually replaced by the pagan 7 day planetary throughout the empire and made official in A.D However, from its inception (about 600 B.C.) satyrday had been the FIRST day of the pagan planetary, and the sun's day was the second day of the. To assume that Israel observed the pagan seven day planetary in the first century when Rome themselves did not is sheer lunacy. Rome did not officially adopt the seven day planetary until A.D. 321 when Emperor Constantine became a christian. At that time, saturn s day was the first day of the seven day planetary, not the seventh. Below is a sketch of the planetary, circa 100 B.C. saturn s day, sun s day, moon s day, mars day, mercury s day, jupiter s day, venus day Rome ruled the world in the first century B.C., thus the Roman numerals, but this is not a Roman calendar. This is the pagan seven day planetary as it existed from about 600 B.C., until A.D. 321 when Constantine venerated the day of the sun. Constantine worshiped Mithra, the Persian version of the sun god. He did not want the day of the sun taking a back seat to saturn, so when he venerated the day of the sun all he did was bump satyrday from the coveted #1 position in the all the way to the seventh day, which was vacated by all the other days moving up one position in the ly cycle, permitting the sun s day to hold the preeminent position. The sketch above came from this clay calendar tablet (at left). 3

4 You see, the dirty little secret is out. Satyrday was not the seventh day of the anywhere on the planet until A.D. 321, and then by virtue of Constantine, not the Creator Almighty, so it certainly was NOT the Sabbath of Israel at any time in earth s history. Indeed, sunday has never rightly been called the seventh day of the, but satyrday, the day Bro. Anderson WISHES to call the seventh day of the has only been the seventh day of the for 1700 years. Satyrday is a day created, named and found exclusively on a pagan calendar. How then is it the Scriptural Sabbath? So, Bro. Anderson, was Israel using the 7 day pagan planetary in the first century? If so (If not) are you ever going to produce any evidence to support your position? Rome certainly wasn't using the seven day in the first century. In the first century, the Julian calendar consisted of a repeating 8 day market, A-B-C-D-E-F-G-H; it BECAME a seven day in A.D. 321 when Constantine adopted the pagan planetary. Bro. Anderson's arguments are mere words until he backs them up with facts. It's OK, don't be frightened. Facts have never hurt anyone, well, unless you reject or ignore them. Here is a reproduction of a first century Roman Republican calendar... Until the 4th century, Rome had an 8 day market calendar, not a seven day. Satyrday did not appear on the official Roman calendar until 321 A.D., so satyrday was FAR from well established as a day on the Roman (much less Hebrew) calendar in the NT times. Dan. 7:25 think to change times and laws Then Daniel could eliminate the word times in the above. Why counterfeit the ly Sabbath unless the ly cycle was the true system. (sic--no question mark at end of question.) Whoever is in charge is in charge of the calendar. The calendar you observe tells you when to work and when to worship. WHEN you worship tells heaven and the on-looking universe WHO you worship, so getting the day right is THAT serious. Constantine was in charge of the Roman calendar in A.D

5 Daniel was writing about Rome and the papacy. The pagans who invented the 7 day planetary were not trying to change the Sabbath. They were heathens, worshipping false gods, they were not trying to change the Calendar of YHWH or Israel. However, in the 4th century, Rome was making the pretense of being "christian", and the papacy thought to usurp the authority of Scripture by making a show of changing the Scriptural day of worship from the seventh day to the first. Granted, they were doing this on a man-made pagan-papal calendar, but they did EXACTLY as Daniel prophesied. They tried to changes times (feasts days) and laws (commandments), and they tortured and killed anyone who disregarded their decrees. The Catholic Church abolished not only the Sabbath, but all the other Jewish festivals. Bishop T. Enright, CSSR, St. Louis, Missouri, If you want to know the days to keep, go to the Catholic Church, not to the Mosaic law, we have power to put down feast days, and we have power to institute feast days. Cardinal James Gibbons. He shall speak against the Most High and oppress the Most Holy ones of the Most High, THINKING TO CHANGE THE FEAST DAYS AND THE LAW. New Catholic American Bible, Daniel 7:25 [All emphasis my own] Question: Have you any other way of proving that the Church has the power to institute festivals of precept (feast days)? Answer: Has she not such power she could not have done that in which all modern religionists agree with her; she could not have substituted the observance of Sunday, the first day of the, for the observance of Satyrday, the seventh day, a change for which there is no Scriptural authority. A Doctrinal Catechism, p. 174 Of course the Catholic Church claims that the change was her act And the act is a mark of ecclesiastical power and authority in religious matters. Letter, Cardinal Gibbons, The earliest Christians didn t immediately disassociate themselves from the observance of the Jewish feasts. Many references in the New Testament indicate that Jesus and his disciples, as well as the early Palestinian Christian communities, observed the Sabbath and the major annual festivals. The New Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol. 5, p They (early believers) took for granted that the gospel was continuous with Judaism; for them the new covenant did not mean that the old covenant made between God and Israel was no longer in force. They still observed the feasts of Passover, Pentecost and Tabernacles. Paul and Jewish Christianity, p. 72. Dear Friend, 1905 June, I have offered and still offer $1000 to any one who can prove to me from the Bible alone that I am bound under grievous sin to keep Sunday holy. It was the Catholic Church which made the law obliging us to keep Sunday holy. The Church made this law long after the Bible was written. Hence said law is not in the Bible. 5

6 Christ, our Lord, empowered his Church to make laws binding in conscience. He said to his apostles and their lawful successors in the priesthood whatsoever you shall bind on earth shall be binding in heaven. Mth 16:19, Mth 18:17, Luk 16:19 The Cath. Church abolished not only the Sabbath, but all the other Jewish festivals. Pray and study. I shall be always glad to help you as long as you honestly seek the truth. Respectfully, (signed) T. Enright, CSSR Seventh-day Adventists have always quoted Roman Catholics in showing that the Catholic Church admits that she, by her authority, changed the Biblical Sabbath observance to Sunday. One of the best known is in Great Controversy, page 448: Romanists declare that "the observance of Sunday by the Protestants is an homage they pay, in spite of themselves, to the authority of the [Catholic] Church." Mgr. Segur, Plain Talk About the Protestantism of Today, p On January 5, 2006, Roman Catholic scholar and apologist, Patrick Madrid, made a startling statement of which every person who loves the true Sabbath should be aware. EWTN, Global Catholic Radio Network, hosts a call-in radio show entitled Open Line. A listener called in with a question regarding the allegation that the Catholic Church has changed the Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday. Madrid stated that the current Saturday is not the original Biblical Sabbath but that the change made by the Catholic Church was actually one of calendation. Following is a transcript of his statements. Well, what we have to remember is, first of all what Jesus said: He said don't forget that man was not made for the Sabbath; the Sabbath was made for man. And, the Lord Himself, we're told, was the Lord of the Sabbath, so He had the authority, in areas as far as how we would observe that commandment. What your brother-in-law may not understand is that the Catholic Church did not change that commandment. The Catholic Church observes the commandment to keep holy the Lo-... the Sabbath, but it does so on the Lord's Day, and the earliest Christians transferred their observance of that commandment from Saturday to Sunday. First of all, because there was a distinct break between the Old Testament requirements: the rituals and Mosaic covenant demands dealing with the Sabbath worship and animal sacrifices, and that sort of thing. And they wanted to show that Christianity was distinct from Judaism. It came from Judaism, but it was distinct from it. Uh, celebrating the Lord's coming, I'm sorry, celebrating the Lord's resurrection and death on the day that He rose from the dead seemed to be the most appropriate. 6

7 Uh, the other thing that we should remember, too, is that our calendar that we follow, including Seventh-day Adventists, is not only a calendar that was devised by the Catholic Church, but also it is a calendar that's based upon the solar year, not the lunar year. And the Jewish calendar that was observed in the time of Christ is, follows a lunar calendar, which is several days short of the solar calendar. So the great irony is that even the Seventh-day Adventists themselves are not worshiping on exactly the same Sabbath day as the Jews of the time of Christ, because it's several days off now, uh, having, uh, switched to [from?] following the lunar calendar. The Roman Catholic Church has always known that Constantine's law was much more than a switch from saturday to sunday. Now that the truth about the Biblical calendar is being more widely agitated, they are acknowledging the validity of the luni-solar calendar that was still in use in the NT era. Lunar Calendar Believers Major Errors: Error # 1: Source: Creation not provable to be continuous. [This site is not affiliated with WLC.] You cannot prove that the creation has been a continuous and unbroken chain of seven day cycles, always beginning on Sunday and ending on Saturday. It is claimed that this unbroken chain of s has never been lost or broken since the first of creation and that the Roman Planetary names are the only thing added to the over the years. This is a boast not provable by Scripture, history or astronomy. Yes it can and by all three! OK, more confusion. The above paragraph apparently comes from thecreatorscalendar.com, and the bold font response is from Bro. Anderson. Which means that if he is not going to identify who is saying what here, I'm going to have to try to do it for him. Any mistakes, naturally, are my own. I've read the paragraphs below 2-3 times and I'm just now figuring that they are Anderson's follow up to his bold font response above. I think. Yahuwah gave us the definition of the names of the at creation, Gen. 1. Creation ly calendar starts with the 1st day when light was created, Gen. 1:3, and the moon was created on the 4th day. Gen.1:16. The sun moon and stars were given for mow ed H4150: 1) appointed time (general) 2) sacred season, set feast, appointed season. Gen. 1:14. Indeed, the starts when light was created in Genesis 1:3, but time on earth began in Genesis 1:1-2. When YHWH created heaven and earth, that was a TIME CONSUMING creation event. The months in Scripture are lunar, and I believe Bro. Anderson would agree. Lunar months begin with a New Moon. The second month of earth's history began with a New Moon. Last month began with a New Moon, so what do you suppose the very first month of earth's history began with? New Moon! Looks like this: 7

8 New Moon (Genesis 1:1-2) Day 1 of (Genesis 1:3-5) Day 2 of (Genesis 1:6-8) Day 3 of (Genesis 1:9-13) Day 4 of (Genesis 1:14-19) Day 5 of (Genesis 1:20-23) Day 6 of (Genesis 1:24-31) 7 th day Sabbath (Genesis 2:1-3) (30) And, for the record, the moon was not "created" on the 4th day as claimed above by Bro. Anderson. This is what we have all been taught, but Scripture never says that--and remember, Scripture was written in Hebrew, not the KJV English... Please note that heaven AND earth was created in Genesis 1:1-2. Watch and you will come to understand just what this means. The word for create (bara--as used in Genesis 1:1 and 1:27, et al) is not found in Genesis 1: The action word used there is made, "And Elohim made two great lights..." This word made (Strong s H# 6213) is used several times during the creation and does NOT mean created from nothing. This is the Hebrew word asah, (ah-saw). The Hebrew word asah means advanced upon or appointed, made, like making a bed in the morning. For example: He appointed (asah) the moon for seasons Psalm 104:19. Here David very nearly quotes Genesis 1:14, only he s very specific about the role of the moon. Seasons here in Psalm 104:19 is the same Hebrew word found in Genesis 1:14; mo edim, appointed times or set feasts. If I made you a general in my army, does that mean you did not exist until I pinned the stars on your lapel? No, it means I advanced upon or appointed you as a general in my army. You existed prior to your appointment. Here s the scenario: YHWH created heaven and earth at a certain point in time (in Genesis 1:1-2). He doesn t call it a day (yom) because the time piece that regulates the day was not yet ordained as such, and the sun (which regulates the day) had not been lit. Then on the first day of the, YHWH lights the sun creating light and, of course, day and night as a result. I'm sorry Bro. Anderson, but if you read Genesis 1:3-5, the only light source that divides day from night is the sun. The Hebrew word for day (yom) literally means heat (as in from the sun). So the sun regulates the day (and of course the night by default). And since the sun was lit on the first day of Creation, there are actually three "days" (yom) listed BEFORE the 4th day of Creation. On day four, YHWH made (meaning advanced upon, not created from scratch) the luminaries that He had created earlier [when He created the heavens and the earth and then illuminated on day one], and ordained them, appointed them as time keepers. What this means is that New Moon was the segment of time before the sun was lit, listed in Genesis 1:1-2. It also means that the sun was lit on day one and has been regulating days ever since. It also proves that the sun, moon and stars were not created from scratch on the 4 th day of creation. Honesty permits only ONE answer. I have an entire study that proves this point that can be found at this link: 8

9 If New Moon (the beginning of the first month) came on the 4th day of Creation (as Bro. Anderson wants you to believe), then what month did the days listed from Genesis 1:1 to 1:13 belong to? Time (seconds, minutes, hours, days, s, months and years) all started at the exact same moment on earth. That moment is Genesis 1:1. I know it, Bro. Anderson knows it, and if he did NOT know it, he knows it now. The sun, moon and stars are given to determine all the seasons. Scripture tells us that the day night and moon all have their own season. [Then why does Bro. Anderson insist that the day season begins at the night season if they each have their own season? Talk about hypocrisy.] The sun determines the day season, Jere. 33:20; and the four yearly seasons; Psalms 19:5 (it s circuit = tekufah) the stars determine the night season, Psalm 16:7, and the moon determines the month seasons, Psalms 104:19. Since what our Creator speaks He never alters or changes, Psalms 89:34; the same is true with the names of the days. The 7th day, Yahuwah called the Sabbath day, it can never be changed every New Moon to the 1st day. Scriptures always calls the ly Sabbath the 7th day, Gen. 2:2; Exo. 16:26; 20:11; Heb. 4:4; it is never called the 1st day. Whoa, whoa, whoa! Who said that the New Moon changes the Sabbath from the seventh day to the first day? The Lunar Sabbath is always the seventh day of every, without exception. Looks like this... New Moon (Genesis 1:1-2) Day 1 of (Genesis 1:3-5) Day 2 of (Genesis 1:6-8) Day 3 of (Genesis 1:9-13) Day 4 of (Genesis 1:14-19) 9 Day 5 of (Genesis 1:20-23) Day 6 of (Genesis 1:24-31) 7 th day Sabbath (Genesis 2:1-3) (30) Any study on this subject that does not start in Genesis chapter one is dead wrong. Agreed. See calendar model above. We are not to re-number the days. True statement. Yahushuah followed the creation continuous and unbroken chain of seven day cycles, Luke 4:16. Where in this verse does it say anything about continuous unbroken chain of seven day cycles? Every Sabbath in the NT that can be date identified fell on the 8th, 15th, 22nd and 29th days of the month, without exception. 29_Proof.pdf. Proof provided in the study found at this link. Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, let me say this now and get it over with. The ONLY reason Bro. Anderson believes that satyrday is the Sabbath and that the Sabbath is on a continuous unbroken cycle of seven days is because he is looking at and programmed to accept the Gregorian calendar. Because there is not a single text, not a shred of evidence in either the OT or the NT that says or implies any such thing. The study at the link above will prove this conclusively. Yahushuah disciples did the same, Acts 16:13, 17:2. Scripture, history and astronomy has proved that the days have not changed since Yahushuah kept both ly and annual holy days.

10 Agreed. The Lunar calendar has not changed since the first century. Speaking of history, Bro. Anderson does not want you to know the depth of his ignorance of this subject, and without rubbing his nose in it, I simply must share with you the following... The New Moon is still, and the Sabbath originally was, dependent upon the lunar cycle. Universal Jewish Encyclopedia, p No quote can be clearer than this. each lunar month was divided into four parts, corresponding to the four phases of the moon. The first of each month began with the new moon, so that, as the lunar month was one or two days more than four periods of seven days, these additional days were not reckoned at all. Universal Jewish Encyclopedia, Vol. 10, p Article "Week." The Sabbath depending, in Israel s nomadic period, upon the observation of the phases of the moon, could not, according to this view, be a fixed day. the Hebrew Sabbathon was celebrated at intervals of seven days, corresponding with changes in the moon s phases... Encyclopedia Biblica, p In the time of the earliest prophets, the New Moon stood in the same line with another lunar observance, the Sabbath. Ezekiel, who curiously enough frequently dates his prophecies on the New Moon describes the gate of the inner court of the (new) temple looking eastward as kept shut for the six working days, but opened on the Sabbath and the New Moon. Scribner's Dictionary of the Bible (1898 edit.), p. 521 The Hebrew month is a lunar month and the quarter of this period one phase of the moon appears to have determined the of seven days. Encyclopedia Biblica, p And why have we never been taught any of this??? The [early] Hebrews employed lunar seven-day s which ended with special observances on the seventh day but none the less were tied to the moon s course. Hutton Webster, in his book, Rest Days, page 254. In the article Shawui Calendar: Ancient Shawui Observance, we find confirmation of a radical change in YHWH s calendar. The [lunar]...calendar was used by all the original disciples of Yeshua... This original Nazarene lunar-solar calendar was supplanted by a Roman planetary and calendar in 135 C.E. -- when the Bishops of the Circumcision (i.e. legitimate Nazarene successors to Yeshua) were displaced from Jerusalem. This began a three hundred year controversy concerning the true calendar and correct Sabbath. This intimate connection between the and the month was soon dissolved. It is certain that the soon followed a development of its own, and it became the custom -- without paying any regard to the days of the month (i.e. the lunar month) --...so that the New Moon no longer coincided with the first day [of the month ]. Encyclopedia Biblica, (1899 edit.), p the custom of celebrating the Sabbath every 7th day, irrespective of the relationship of the day to the moon s phases, led to a complete separation from the ancient view of the Sabbath... Encyclopedia Biblica, (1899 edit.), p

11 The calendar was originally fixed by observation, and ultimately by calculation. Up to the fall of the Temple (A.D. 70), witnesses who saw the new moon came forward and were strictly examined and if their evidence was accepted the month was fixed by the priests. Eventually the authority passed to the Sanhedrin and ultimately to the Patriarchate. Gradually observation gave place to calculation. The right to determine the calendar was reserved to the Patriarchate; the Jews of Mesopotamia [Ed. Babylonian Jews] tried in vain to establish their own calendar but the prerogative of Palestine was zealously defended. So long as Palestine remained a religious centre, it was naturally to the homeland that the Diaspora looked for its calendar. Uniformity was essential, for if different parts had celebrated feasts on different days confusion would have ensued. It was not until the 4 th century A.D. that Babylon fixed the calendar Encyclopedia Britannica: Vol. 4, article Calendar. These imported [from Babylon] superstitions eventually led Jewish rabbis to call Saturn Shabbti, the star of the Sabbath, [and]...it was not until the first century of our era, when the planetary had become an established institution, that the Jewish Sabbath seems always to have corresponded to Saturn s Day [Satyrday]. Hutton Webster in his book, Rest Days, p Thus the condemnation in Amos 5:26 was set in stone. In Amos 5:26, the prophet is recorded as reminding Israel of their apostasy. Israel started worshipping Chiun, a star-god of their own making. In Acts 7:43, Stephen quotes Amos and is translated into Greek as saying Remphan, the star-god Chiun and Remphan are the respective Hebrew and Greek words for Saturn. The Sabbath of Scripture is based upon the lunar cycle. So Israel did indeed come to worship Saturn on his day, but at a much later date and not by Divine command. With the development of the importance of the Sabbath as a day of consecration and the emphasis laid upon the significant number seven, the became more and more divorced from its lunar connection... Universal Jewish Encyclopedia: Vol. 10, 1943 edit. Article, "Week," p The four quarters of the moon supply an obvious division of the month...it is most significant that in the older parts of the Hebrew scriptures the new moon and the Sabbath are almost invariably mentioned together. The [lunar] month is beyond question an old sacred division of time common to all the semites; even the Arabs, who received the at quite a late period from the Syrians, greeted the New Moon with religious acclamations. We cannot tell [exactly] when the Sabbath became disassociated from the month. Encyclopedia Biblica, 1899 edit., pp How is it that Scholars cannot tell when the Sabbath was disassociated from the lunar cycle while modern Satyrday sabbath keepers in general deny that the Sabbath was ever connected with the moon in the first place? If there is any possible remaining doubt that Israel observed a lunar Sabbath in Scripture, let this quote settle your conscience: Luni-solar calendar foundations of the Jewish calendar extend from the earliest verses of scripture. Natural, uniform motions of the heavenly spheres are the pivotal markers of time reckoning. The list of ancient characters mentioned in the Old Testament used this lunar-solar calendar system of time recording. Observation of lunar phases coupled with solar positioning graduated the lifetime ages of Adam and his descendants

12 Changes in the appearance of the moon provided the seven-day. Originating with ancient interpretations of lunar time, divisions of seven days separate the four basic lunar phases... Starting with a dark new moon, the moon gradually comes into view on following nights. In about seven days the first half of the moon is visible. The second half waxes until full moon at the end of two s. Lunar light reverses progression in the third, waning to half visibility again. A fourth completes the month, and visibility again diminishes toward a new moon. Completion of four lunar phases comprises the month. Ages of Adam, published in 1995, by Clark K. Nelson. The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's crib: but Israel doth not know, My people doth not consider. Isaiah 1:3 The calendar observed by Yahushua in the first century has never been abrogated, just buried in the rubble of the pagan/papal/man-made/solar-only/roman calendar. Error # 2: Each New Moon starts a new day one. How is this an error? The first day of each lunar month (New Moon day) is day one, the first day of that month. Not sure where Bro. Anderson is going with this one. I suppose we shall see... World Last Chance statement: Remarkably, we are counseled to count or number each day, with New Moon being day one, (Not Scriptural) the day following the visual aid of the First Visible Crescent. Ok, the paragraph above is from WLC, the inserted (parenthetical statement) is from Bro. Anderson. Sir, if New Moon is NOT the first day of the lunar month, what day is it? Please do not tell someone else that their premise is not Scriptural and not share what YOU think Scripture says. Summary and Final Points: New Moon Principles: 12. From the moment the CLID is established by the witness of the FVC, the civil calendar dates are numbered for each lunar month. Scripture teaches us to number our days, counting from New Moon day, as day one. (Not Scriptural) Jeremiah 2:32, 1 Chronicles 23:30-32, Psalms 90:12, Isaiah 66:23. Again, the paragraph above is from WLC, the inserted (parenthetical statement) is from Bro. Anderson. For the record, this is one of the areas where I cannot support WLC. The Scriptural New Moon did not commence with the sighting of the first visible crescent (FVC). This was the practice of Babylon. Israel picked up this nasty little habit while in captivity, and may have returned to it when in apostasy, but it was not observed in this manner when they were following YHWH. WLC no longer believes that the months began at the sighting of the FVC, but their current New Moon model also lacks Scriptural and astronomical support. Read these texts below to confirm for yourself that the Scriptures never states that the New Moon starts at day one... thus... no light in this Lunar man made doctrine. Jeremiah 2:32 Can a maid forget her ornaments, or a bride her attire? Yet my people have forgotten me days without number. 12

13 1 Chronicles 23:30 And to stand every morning to thank and praise Yahuah, and likewise at even: 31 And to offer all burnt sacrifices unto Yahuah in the Sabbaths, in the new moons, and on the set feasts, by number, according to the order commanded unto them, continually before Yahuah: 32 And that they should keep the charge of the tabernacle of the congregation, and the charge of the holy place, and the charge of the sons of Aaron their brethren, in the service of the house of Yahuah. Psalms 90:12 So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom. Isaiah 66:23 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 Yahuah. I agree with Bro Anderson. The above 4 verses do not command us to call New Moon the first day of the month, But the implication is there. Let me explain: I agree with Anderson (based on the wording of his accusation), but his entire premise is false. If Passover is the 14th day of the month, what was the first day of the month? If the first day of Unleavened Bread is the 15th day of the first month, what was the first day of that month? If Day of Atonement is the 10th day of the seventh month, what was the first day of this month? Shall I continue? Bro. Anderson, please tell me that you see the folly of your statement because everyone else reading this does. The first day of "chodesh" the rebuilding of the month, is called New Moon. The above 4 texts are the only scriptures WLC gives to provide proof that at the New Moon day is changed to be called day one. You can see that there is no proof that this has been done. At best the above four verses have been taken out of context. No, not taken out of context, Bro. Anderson, you are not reading them IN context. While these verses do not say to call the New Moon day ONE, New Moon days ARE days mentioned in Scripture, along with Sabbaths and work days. That means that they MUST be numbered according to the 4 verses above. And if you are not going to peg them to SOMETHING, then nothing in the calendar month will be in sync. The months in Scripture are lunar, you admitted as much near the top of p. 9 above. You cannot now go back and say that New Moon days are not numbered or are not day one when now that I've held your feet to the fire, you know good and well that the are. If there is no scriptural proof, then it is a manmade doctrine. Following this man made doctrine you worship in vain! Mark 7:7. But there is Scriptural proof that New Moon is day one of the month, so it is not a man-made doctrine or worshipping in vain. Exodus 12:2 This H2088 New Moon H2320 shall be unto you the beginning H7218 of months: H2320 it H1931 shall be the first H7223 New Moon H2320 of the year H8141 to you. Numbers 10:10 Also in the day H3117 of your gladness, H8057 and in your solemn days, H4150 and in the beginnings H7218 of your months, H2320 ye shall blow H8628 with the trumpets H2689 over H5921 your burnt offerings, H5930 and over H5921 the sacrifices H2077 of your peace offerings; H8002 that they may be H1961 to you for a memorial H2146 before H6440 your Elohim: H430 I H589 am YHWH H3068 your Elohim. H430 13

14 Leviticus 23:24 Speak H1696 unto H413 the children H1121 of Israel, H3478 saying, H559 In the seventh H7637 month, H2320 in the first H259 day of the month, H2320 shall ye have H1961 a sabbath, H7677 a memorial H2146 of blowing of trumpets, H8643 an holy H6944 convocation. H4744 Please note the Hebrew word H2320, chodesh in each of the above three verses. ח ד שׁ H2320 chôdesh kho'-desh From H2318; the new moon; by implication a month: - month (-ly), new moon. ד שׁ H2318 châdashח khaw-dash' A primitive root; to be new; causatively to rebuild: - renew, repair. So the ROOT word (H2318) for chodesh means to be new, to rebuild. Chodesh (H2320) itself means New Moon, and by implication only is it translated as month. Exodus 12 speaks of the first day of the new year being the first day of the first month, three times using the word Chodesh. Numbers 10 says that the trumpet would be given a certain sound at the beginnings of the month (chodesh). Leviticus 23 calls the first day of the seventh month (chodesh) the Feast of Trumpets. I'm sorry Bro. Anderson, but the first New Moon (chodesh) of the first month (New Years), the beginnings of your months (chodesh), and the first day of the seventh month IN CONTEXT says that the first day of the month is New Moon. The Hebrew word for beginnings in Numbers means head of, beginning, first or foremost, and the Hebrew word for first in Exodus and Leviticus is the Hebrew ordinal ONE or first. Do the math Bro. Anderson, and don't make statements you cannot back up. Error # 3: The only ly Sabbaths are: 1, 8, 15, 22, and 29th. Lunitarians believe the 1 st day of each month is a New Moon day Sabbath but not a holy Sabbath day and the ly holy Sabbaths follow on the 8 th, 15 th, 22 nd and 29 th days of the month and is repeated the next New Moon. Correction: A few Lunar Sabbatarians believe that New Moon is a Sabbath. Most do not (because it is not). Only the seventh New Moon is called a Sabbath, and work/labor was performed on other New Moon days in Scripture. And, yes, the ly Sabbaths fall on the 8th, 15th, 22nd and 29th days of each month, which is repeated the follow month. To prove this they give scripture that states the annual holy days of the Feast of Unleavened Bread and the Feast of Tabernacles and the Feast of the Great Day of Yahuah fall on ly Sabbath days of the lunar calendar of the 15 th and 22 nd. [These are not the proof texts we use to prove that the ly Sabbaths fall on the 8th, 15th, 22nd and 29th days of each month. All these verses prove is that the annual Sabbaths in many cases fell on a ly Sabbath.] Let s look at all of the perfect seven annual Holy Feast days. 14

15 Passover Date 1 st month 14 th day; not a holy day Unleavened Bread Date 1 st month 15 th day; 1 st holy day First Fruits Date Day after the ly Sabbath, not a holy day Unleavened Bread Date 1 st month 21 st day; 2 nd holy day Pentecost Date 50 days after First Fruits day; 3 rd holy day Trumpets Date 7 th month 1 st day; 4 th holy day Day of Atonement Date 7 th month 10th day; 5 th holy day Tabernacles Date 7 th month 15th day; 6 th holy day Last Great Day Date 7 th month 22nd day; 7 th holy day. 7 perfect annual holy days. Only 3 out of 7 annual holy days fall on the lunar calendar Sabbath; therefore this is not proof that the lunar calendar is to be used. Oh brother. Bro. Anderson, every feast you just listed is found ONLY on a Lunar calendar month. Why are you using the annual Lunar Sabbaths in an attempt to disprove the ly Lunar Sabbaths? And, for the record, you do err, not knowing the Scriptures. 1. First fruits always fell on Abib 16, the day after the Sabbath named in Leviticus 23:11. That Sabbath in context was Abib The 21st day of the first month is not a holy day. It is a work day. If you insist in having seven annual feast days, then you need to include Passover. There is nothing in Scripture that says ANYTHING about seven annual Sabbaths. This is the invention of man. There ARE 7 annual feast days, but they are not all Sabbaths (perfect annual holy days). Passover Unleavened Bread Pentecost Trumpets Day of Atonement First day of Tabernacles (which is a 7 day feast) The "eighth day" of Tabernacles 3. The 22nd day of the 7th month is not the "Last Great Day". The 21st is. The Feast of Tabernacles is a seven day feast. Leviticus 23:34, 23:36, 23:39, 23:42. How can the eighth day be the last day of a seven day feast? Is Passover (Abib 14) the first day of Unleavened Bread (which begins on Abib 15)? No, it the day before the Feast of Unleavened Bread, and the eighth day is the day AFTER the Feast of Tabernacles is over. How do I know? Simple. Israel was to dwell in booths, mini tabernacles, for seven days (Leviticus 23:42). Israel was not dwelling in booths on the 8 th day, so the 8 th day is NOT the last day of Tabernacles, the seventh day of the seven day feast is the last day. This feast starts on the 15 th, ends on the 21 st. The eighth day is just that, the 8 th day, an addition to the original seven day feast. It falls on the 22 nd of the seventh month and it happens to be the Sabbath (every year). Here is the evidence... 15

16 I too was taught that the 8th day of the Feast, (the 22nd), is the last great day of Tabernacles. Scripture does not teach this however. Leviticus 23:34-36 says that Tabernacles begins on the 15 th day of the seventh month and is a seven day feast. Count the days The 8 th day was an holy convocation, a day added to the 7 day feast. The 8 th day would be the 22 nd day of the 7 th month. The last great day of a SEVEN day feast is the seventh day of the feast, the 21 st day of the 7 th month. Torah even proves that the 8 th day was not even part of Tabernacles because Israel did not have to dwell in their booths on the 8 th day, Leviticus 23:42. It was just the day following Tabernacles no different than Passover is the day preceding Unleavened Bread. Let s see what Scripture calls the day after the last day of the seven day Feast of Tabernacles. Watch now John 8:2 The next day (the day after the last day of Tabernacles is the 22 nd of the month), Yahshua returned to the temple where another lengthy debate took place John 8:59 After which Yahshua was nearly stoned, but he passed through John 9:1 as Yahshua left the temple, He passed by a blind man.read John 9:14: Now it was the Sabbath when Yahshua made the clay and opened his eyes. This proves that the 22 nd day of the 7 th month was and is the ly Sabbath, just like it says in Leviticus 23. Yahshua returned to the temple because it was the Sabbath. A ly Sabbath, not an annual Sabbath. And Yahshua attested to this fact--without protest, I might add. Yahshua, his disciples and all of Israel observed this Sabbath, not as part of the seven day feast, but as the EIGHTH day. The eighth day is used as a Hebrew idiom for the ly Sabbath in several instances in Scripture. What is complicated about this? Bro. Anderson, why do think that the last great day of a seven day feast is the day after the last day of the feast? There are seven cans of soda in a row. If I were to ask you to hand me the last can of soda, are you going to hand me the box of Cracker Jacks instead? Is this the legacy you wish to leave your readers? There is always harmony in the truth. The ly and annual holy Sabbath days are destined and totally different. [If they are different, why are they called by the SAME title in Leviticus 23, as he quotes below? Evidence forthcoming...] The ly Sabbath follow the day season and is a continuous 7 day cycle and the annual Sabbaths follows the moon season (month comes from the word moon) as given in the following: Lev. 23:1 Feasts of Yahuah And Yahuah spoke to Moses, saying, 2 Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: The feasts of Yahuah, which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, these are My feasts. [See the word feasts, used twice here? Hebrew word mo'edim.] 16

17 The Sabbath 3 Six days shall work be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation. You shall do no work on it; it is the Sabbath of Yahuah in all your dwellings. YHWH is speaking to Moses and twice explains to Moses that what He is about to give him is a list of His feasts. The ly Sabbath is the first feast listed, twice called mo'edim. YHWH then went on to use the SAME Hebrew word to identify the annual feasts in Leviticus 23:4. Please note that the Strong's Hebrew numbers have been left in verse 2 and 4 below. Make note of the underlined words below... And YHWH spake unto Moses, saying, Speak H1696 unto H413 the children H1121 of Israel, H3478 and say H559 unto H413 them, Concerning the feasts H4150 of YHWH, H3068 which H834 (H853) ye shall proclaim H7121 to be holy H6944 convocations, H4744 even these H428 are My feasts. H4150 Six days shall work be done: but the seventh day is the sabbath of rest, an holy convocation; ye shall do no work therein: it is the sabbath of YHWH in all your dwellings. These H428 are the feasts H4150 of YHWH, H3068 even holy H6944 convocations, H4744 which H834 ye shall proclaim H7121 in their seasons. H4150 In the fourteenth day of the first month at even is YHWH's passover. Leviticus 23:1-5 H4150 is the Hebrew word Mo'ed or Mo'edim (plural). It means set feasts or time(s) appointed. Twice YHWH calls the ly Sabbath a mo'ed in verse 2 and in verse 4, He calls the second list of appointed times mo'edim, then in verse 5 launches into the list of annual feasts. Now, get this, Genesis 1:14 says that the two great lights in the heavens will regulate the mo'edim, but is not specific which of the two. Psalm 104:19 is VERY specific, flatly stating that the moon will regulate the mo'edim. Now forgive me for asking this question, but above, Bro. Anderson ly and annual Sabbaths are different, that the ly Sabbath is follows the day season, while the annual Sabbaths follow the moon season. OK, so explain why both sets of feasts are identified as mo'edim, which is regulated by the moon. Also, Bro. Anderson needs to explain why the annual Sabbaths are also identified by date. For example, Passover is the 14th DAY of the first month, the Sabbath of Unleavened Bread is the 15th DAY of the first month, and Day of Atonement is the 10th DAY of the seventh month. And verse 2 above says that the seventh DAY is the (ly) Sabbath. These are all DAYS. So why don't the annual feasts also follow the day season? Again, I am sorry, but Bro. Anderson SAYS that the ly Sabbath and annual Sabbaths are "totally different", but does not offer a shred of evidence. I have shown you, the ladies and gentlemen of the jury that the ly and annual Sabbaths are BOTH identified as mo'edim, which Scripture says is regulated by the moon, and BOTH are identified as days, which are obviously regulated by the sun. Now, do the math. It goes without saying that the sun regulates the days, but it is the moon that tells you which day it is. This violates neither Genesis 1:14 or Psalm 104:19. Leviticus 23, the VERY passage with Bro. Anderson thought to use to support his conclusion, actually violates that conclusion. Yah makes it very clear that there is a difference between the ly and annual Holy days. The Passover and Unleavened Bread 17

18 4 These are the feasts of Yahuah, holy convocations which you shall proclaim at their appointed times. 5 On the fourteenth day of the first month (moon) at twilight is Yahuah s Passover. 6 And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the Feast of Unleavened Bread to Yahuah; seven days you must eat unleavened bread. I'm sorry, but where is the evidence that the ly Sabbath and annual Sabbaths are different? Bro. Anderson tries to link the ly Sabbath to the sun and the annual Sabbaths to the moon, yet BOTH are called days (which are regulated by the sun) and BOTH are called mo'edim, which, according to Psalm 104:19, are regulated by the moon. I'm sorry Bro. Anderson, but this is not evidence in your favor. I never cease to be amazed that nay-sayers deny the Lunar Sabbath and demand that we present our evidence, but they do not feel that they have to present any evidence to support their conclusions. Not sure that that is anything BUT prejudice. Further scriptural confirmation is Pentecost calculation is not accurate with a lunar calendar. Lev. 23:9 The Feast of Firstfruits And Yahuah spoke to Moses, saying, 10 Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: When you come into the land which I give to you, and reap its harvest, then you shall bring a sheaf of the Firstfruits of your harvest to the priest. 11 He shall wave the sheaf before Yahuah, to be accepted on your behalf; on the day after the Sabbath (The day after is the first day of the ; which makes this Sabbath the ly Sabbath not the Annual Unleavened Bread Sabbath otherwise it would state that it was a High Sabbath) the priest shall wave it. I regret to inform you that you do err, not knowing the Scriptures. In Leviticus 23:6-11, the phrase "morrow after the Sabbath" (H7676) is used. Leviticus 23:11 And he shall wave H5130 (H853) the sheaf H6016 before H6440 YHWH, H3068 to be accepted H7522 for you: on the morrow H4480 H4283 after the sabbath H7676 the priest H3548 shall wave H5130 it. The Sabbath mentioned here is the Abib 15, the 1st day of Unleavened Bread, which is defined in Leviticus 23:6-11 as a Sabbath. How do I know that Abib 15 is the Sabbath referred to here? Two witnesses, the first links the ly Sabbath to Abib 15, the date of the exodus... Keep the sabbath H7676 day to sanctify it, as YHWH thy Elohim hath commanded thee. Six days thou shalt labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh H7637 day H3117 is the sabbath H7676 of YHWH thy Elohim: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thine ox, nor thine ass, nor any of thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; that thy manservant and thy maidservant may rest as well as thou. And remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and that YHWH thy Elohim brought thee out thence through a mighty hand and by a stretched out arm: therefore YHWH thy Elohim commanded thee to keep the sabbath H7676 day. Deuteronomy 5:12-15 For the second witness, how about a quote from Josephus, the other first century Hebrew historian? In The Antiquities of the Jews, Book 3, Chapter 10, section 5, he has this to say about the Passover season: 18