There is clearly no shortage of ideas to lead people away from the biblical Sabbath. Anyone who still clings to God’s 7th day is served something mysterious: a Sabbath that depends on the new moon.
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“Special Sabbaths”
Truly, the Sabbath, the 7th day of the week (“Saturday”) is the focus of the attacks. And this has been the case since the beginning of the first church in Rome (Info). As a rule, the 7th day is completely denied or denied and Sunday is declared to be the “Lord’s Day”. But there are a considerable number of people who hold on to the Sabbath. Here, other methods are used to mislead these people as much as possible. This is especially true for those who are already stuck in the belief that one should not say “Jesus” but is obliged to use the Hebrew pronunciation, i.e. “Yeshua”. (Info).
In Exodus 20:8-11 it is “actually” stated clearly. Six days you shall work, but on the seventh day (of the week) you shall rest. Nevertheless, there is a not insignificant group that attaches the biblical Sabbath to the new moon. According to them, the new moon is the first day of a new month and the counting of the days of the week begins from this day. So it can happen that the next supposed Sabbath is celebrated “in the middle of the week” and there is a different period between two Sabbaths.
How these people even come to the conclusion that the new moon is the starting point for counting the days to the Sabbath is a mystery. Nevertheless, some verses are cited as justification. All one has to do is simply read these verses for oneself.
Verses for supposed justification
The following are some popular verses that are regularly cited to justify a “new moon Sabbath.”
Exodus 31:13-17:
“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.
Ye shall keep the sabbath therefore; for it is holy unto you: every one that defileth it shall surely be put to death: for whosoever doeth any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from among his people.
Six days may work be done; but in the seventh is the sabbath of rest, holy to the LORD: whosoever doeth any work in the sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death.
Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant.
It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever: for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed.“
The Sabbath is highlighted here. But the new moon is not mentioned at all.
Isaiah 66:22-23:
“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.“
New moon and Sabbath are mentioned here, but these are different institutions. In the Old Testament, the new moon was just as important as the Sabbath. The new moon is actually the starting point of a Hebrew month, but it is not the same as the Sabbath. There is no indication here that the new moon should be the new starting point for day 1 for counting the days until the Sabbath.
Ezekiel 46:1-3:
“Thus saith the Lord GOD; 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..”
Here too, the new moon and the Sabbath are mentioned. It is also clear that the Sabbath is not the same as the new moon, but rather that they are two different institutions. People are instructed to worship on the new moon and the Sabbath. But is there any indication that the Sabbath is dependent on the new moon? Nowhere.
Psalm 89:36:
“His seed shall endure for ever, and his throne as the sun before me.“
A statement, yes. But why this verse is actually supposed to be proof of the connection between the new moon and the Sabbath will probably remain an eternal mystery.
Sirach 43:6 (Apocrypha):
“The moon brings forth the times; / she reigns to the end and serves as a sign forever.“
The moon was actually a sign. The new moon at the beginning of the month. But firstly, this verse only mentions “moon” and not “new moon”, and certainly not in connection with the Sabbath, and secondly, it is a statement in an apocrypha. The Book of Sirach was written in the 2nd century BC and is anything but inspired by the Holy Spirit..
Psalm 81,3:
“Blow up the trumpet in the new moon, in the time appointed, on our solemn feast day.“
The horn should be blown on the new moon. But also on the full moon. It is also a festival. It can be anything, but it is not the Sabbath. Because the Sabbath is not a festival, it is a day of rest according to the 4th commandment of God.
Amos 8:5:
“Saying, When will the new moon be gone, that we may sell corn? and the sabbath, that we may set forth wheat, making the ephah small, and the shekel great, and falsifying the balances by deceit?
No normal work should be done on the new moon, as is the case on any Sabbath (7th day of the week). Two different occasions, but not related to each other. Here, too, there is no indication that the Sabbath is related to the new moon.
Leviticus 21:1-3:
“And the LORD said unto Moses, Speak unto the priests the sons of Aaron, and say unto them, There shall none be defiled for the dead among his people:
But for his kin, that is near unto him, that is, for his mother, and for his father, and for his son, and for his daughter, and for his brother,
And for his sister a virgin, that is nigh unto him, which hath had no husband; for her may he be defiled. ”
In fact, this verse has been mentioned in connection with the justification of the Sabbath day’s dependence on the new moon. Why? That remains a mystery.
It must not be easy
The new moon is just as relative as the imposed Roman solar calendar is, whether it is the Julian or the Gregorian calendar. There are 6 days of work and the 7th day of rest. Even if a problem with the Sabbath had arisen with the change from the former Roman calendar to the Julian calendar in 45 BC, Jesus Christ would have made a correction at the latest. He, his disciples, and the majority of the Jewish people observed the Sabbath so naturally that this was never questioned.
But it is fascinating how people can be manipulated when something is even slightly mysterious or mystical. The Roman Catholic Church is a prime example. It has been teeming with highly revered mystics for centuries. But Jesus Christ never did anything in secret. It was understandable, clear, direct and straightforward. The gospel, the good news, is so simple that there is no evidence of any kind of mysticism. Just as simple is the fact that the Sabbath applies to all people. (Info). But it just doesn’t work for many people. They need a bit of “mystery”, a touch of “insider information” to get them to take the bait. And then they’re led astray.
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.
Exodus 20:8-11
Bible verses from King James Version
