sabbath calendar booklet by gary pehrson

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Did You Know the Bible Has its Own Calendar?. . . and it isnt the one hanging on your wall!

The battle of the ancient Biblical calendar versus todays Catholic Gregorian calendar,

and the great struggle for mans worship is a crucial study that has many surprising results. How can this be? This is a common statement when someone first starts to study this new yet ancient Biblical truth. We as Seventh-Day Adventists believe the Sabbath and the day it lands on each week is very important to our God. It is worshipping and honoring our Creator on His Holy Day. In our Bible studies we offer three proofs for the Saturday Sabbath 1. God created the seven-day week, and it has never been changed nor has it gotten out of its successive order cycle since creation. 2. The change from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar didnt change the Sabbath day from Christs day, and it is the seventh day Saturday. 3. The Jews have been keeping the same Seventh-Day Sabbath today as in the times of Christ and Moses. The study of these three important statements requires our careful attention. Hopefully this short study will encourage you to study deeper into the wealth of information on this subject that is found in the Scriptures and history. This is our prayer that together we will come to see the glory of our Lords Holy Sabbath Day. The Fixed Seven-Day Week Cycle When we state we believe that God created the seven-day week, and the Sabbath has never gotten out of its fixed successive order cycle, we need to go to our Bibles and see what they show us about the seven-day week cycle. Let us examine the Scriptures carefully and see what they have to say on this very important subject. Millerites Used the Biblical Calendar Most people do not realize that a very important part of the Great Awakening and the Millerites Bible prophecy studies was determined by the use of the Creators Biblical calendar. The Millerites used it to calculate the exact day and date of Tuesday October 22, 1844 from the 2300 day prophecy seven months before it occurred (Seven Month Movement). Since we now have a good understanding of Gods Biblical luni-solar calendar, we can use this same calendar to determine past dates even as far back as the New Testament it is an amazing calendar designed by the Creator himself. The Millerites first calculated the prophecy date using the Biblical calendar which was the 7th month and 10th day (Day of Atonement), and then they overlaid it on the present day Gregorian calendar to come up with the exact day and date of Tuesday Oct. 22, 1844. It is much easier for us today than it was for those in the past to determine these dates, because of our advanced astronomy, modern electronics, and the age of computers. So we can use these same techniques to locate two Sabbath days in the New Testament just as accurately as the Tuesday Oct. 22, 1844 day and date were calculated.

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All New Testament Sabbaths Should Land on Saturdays Because Saturday is on a fixed weekly cycle calendar where the days never change in order, we can go two thousand years into the future or even two thousand years into the past, even back to creation, and the Sabbath should always land on a Saturday on the Gregorian calendar. A Gregorian monthly calendar can be created for any year. If the unbroken cycle of weeks is correct, and it has never gotten out of its order since creation and was handed down to us from the pagan Roman Julian calendar to the Catholic Gregorian calendar, then the Sabbath has to land on a Saturday on any New Testament date that we can accurately determine by using the feast days and the Biblical calendar. Once that date is determined we overlay it onto a Gregorian calendar created for that year and month to locate which day it would fall on. The Sabbath has to land on a Gregorian calendar Saturday and nothing else to prove the unchanging fixed cycle. There are two examples in the New Testament where you can locate the day and date for a Seventh-Day Sabbath by using the feast days. Scripture says we need at least two witnesses for any proof. Since the feast days are always on the same date each year on the Biblical calendar, it is easy to locate where we are in the gospel timeline. For example when the gospel discusses the Passover day on which Jesus died, spring of A.D. 31 according to the 2300 day prophecy, it was the 14th day of the first month of the Biblical calendar. This is Abib 14 and was the Passover day with its full moon (Leviticus 23:5; John 19:13-17), and the sixth day of the Biblical calendar week and the preparation day. The 15th was a High Seventh-Day Sabbath day with Jesus resting in the tomb and was the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread (Leviticus 23:6). The 16th was the Wave Sheaf ceremony and the first day of the Biblical calendar week and resurrection of Jesus (Leviticus 23:9-12; John 20:1). So this is not difficult to determine using the Biblical calendar since the feast days always land on the same date each year, and as the Millerites discovered, the moon is extremely precise and accurate in determining Biblical calendar feast dates, past or future. After using the Biblical calendar to calculate the correct date on which the Sabbath fell back on that New Testament day, similar to how the Millerites calculated Tuesday October 22, 1844, we then lay it over the Gregorian calendar created for A.D. 31 to determine the actual day it landed on. Surprisingly the Sabbath lands on a Gregorian calendar Thursday. So for at least that month the Sabbaths landed on four Thursdays. So if the fixed seven-day weekly cycle is correct and it has never gotten out of order since creation, then why didnt it land on a Saturday? Should we then be worshipping each Sabbath on a Thursday? That doesnt seem to be right, but if you are a firm believer in the present day Catholic Gregorian calendar fixed weekly cycle it looks like it might be true. The Sabbath day should never change in its Saturday rotation on the fixed seven-day week Gregorian calendar. So this is a very surprising discovery!

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Let us look at another example that we can accurately locate from the Scriptures. It is when Jesus healed the blind man on the Sabbath day, which was the day after the Feast of Tabernacles ended in the fall of 30 A.D. The last day of the Feast of Tabernacles always falls on the 21st day of the seventh month: (Leviticus 23:34, 36, 39-41; Numbers 29:12; Deuteronomy 16:13-15; Nehemiah 8:13-18; Ezekiel 45:21-25.) Christ attended the Feast of Tabernacles. (John 7:10.) On the last day of the Feast, the 21st of the seventh month, Christ stood and spoke. (John 7:37.) Christ spent that night on the Mount of Olives. (John 8:1.) The next morning, the 22nd of the seventh month, Christ returned to the temple. (John 8:2.) At the temple, Christ healed a blind man. (John 9:6.) The healing of the blind man caused great anger for it was the seventh-day Sabbath (John 9:14). After calculating the exact date of the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles and the next day Sabbath by using the Biblical calendar, we then lay it over the Gregorian calendar created for 30 A.D. And what do we find? Another surprise! The Sabbath ends up landing on a Gregorian calendar Tuesday. So for at least that month the Sabbaths landed on four Tuesdays.

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Now if the seven-day fixed weekly cycle is correct, why has it gotten out of its Saturday order cycle? Why do these Sabbaths in the New Testament land on a Thursday and a Tuesday and not on a Saturday? These are fair questions to be asked by anyone searching for Bible truth. It is always dangerous to assume, but especially with Bible truth. The Sabbaths and the Biblical Calendar If on the other hand the Lords Sabbaths are determined by the Creators own calendar, and not by the Catholic Gregorian calendar hanging on our wall, then these two New Testament Seventh-Day Sabbaths have to land on certain dates to make that true. The Biblical calendar days for the Sabbaths would have to land on the seven-day weeks of 8, 15, 22, and 29 each month. It is a very simple and friendly calendar to work with. So lets look back at the Sabbath after the Passover when Jesus died to see what occurs. The Sabbath falls on the Biblical calendar date of the 15th which is where it should fall if it is used to determine the Sabbaths. Now since we have established the date of the 15th for the Sabbath day, we can now subtract a seven-day week to discover another Sabbath day on the 8th, and adding 7 days to the 15th we get the 22nd, and 7 more days is the 29th. So the Seventh-Day Sabbaths land on the 8, 15, 22, and 29 for that month on the Biblical calendar. Is this just a coincidence if the Biblical calendar isnt actually being used to determine the Sabbaths during the life of Christ?

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Let us see if it happens again. On the Sabbath where Jesus healed the blind man, it just happens to fall on a Biblical calendar date of the 22nd, so plus a week of 7 = 29th, subtract 7 = 15th, and subtract another 7 days = 8th. So the Seventh-Day Sabbaths that can be dated land on the 8, 15, 22, and 29 again just where they should be on the Biblical calendar. Now is this just another coincidence? Three Proofs for Using the Creators Biblical Calendar Proof 1: A Saturday Sabbath cannot be located using the Biblical and Gregorian calendars in the New Testament, but Tuesday and Thursday Sabbaths can be. So the continuous fixed order cycle of Saturday as the Sabbath which was passed down to us by the pagan Rome and the Catholic Church calendars (this alone should cause suspicion) cannot to be found. Proof 2: Our Creators Biblical calendar Seventh-Day Sabbath dates match perfectly on two different occasions in the New Testament just where they should: 8, 15, 22, and 29. Proof 3: The Sabbath floating around on the Gregorian calendar from Thursday to Tuesday in the New Testament is another proof that the Sabbaths were actually being calculated by the Biblical calendar during that time. That is exactly what they should be doing if we are using the Biblical calendar to determine Sabbath days and then putting them on a Gregorian calendar! It is the same thing that happens today if you are using the Biblical calendar to determine our Lords Holy Sabbaths and then putting them on your Catholic Gregorian calendar. The Sabbaths each month end up floating around and landing on a different day for that month. It isnt the fault of the Biblical calendar for the Sabbaths floating around; the issue is with todays Catholic Gregorian calendars arbitrary fixed weekly cycles. The Biblical calendar is very simple and presents the Sabbaths on the same days each month. So the Scriptures give us the above three strong witnesses to the truth of this unfolding light concerning the Sabbath, though there are many more. If we knew the specific years in the Old Testament, it would be very likely that the results would be the same on those days we can pinpoint. There are numerous times in the Old Testament where the SeventhDay Sabbath falls on the Biblical calendar days of 8, 15, 22, and 29. Biblical Calendar Used For Feast Days The Biblical calendar is to be used to calculate the feast days, and the Sabbath is the first of the feast days listed in Leviticus 23.1

And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: The feasts [moedim] of the LORD [Yhovah], which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, these are My feasts [moedim]. 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 the LORD [Yhovah] in all your dwellings.

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These are the feasts [moedim] of the LORD [Yhovah], holy convocations which you shall proclaim at their appointed times. 5On the fourteenth day of the first month at twilight is the LORDs Passover. Leviticus. 23:1-5, KJV, and it continues with the other yearly feast days. Some suggest that the Sabbath may not be a feast day, but the above verses are very plain and easy to understand in any version of the Bible you want to read them. God even states it twice in the first three verses! Why? Some may say that it really doesnt say what it plainly says, and that there are hidden meanings in the Hebrew. Yes the Seventh-Day Sabbath is different from the other feast days (Lev. 23:37, 38) since they are yearly, and there are feast day Sabbaths. But Gods Word is very plain for any person to read! The Seventh-Day Sabbath is a feast day! Men have been unwearied in their efforts to obscure the plain, simple meaning of the Scriptures, and to make them contradict their own testimony. Great Controversy, p.69 So the Big Question The question needs to be answered, where then did the fixed weekly Saturday Sabbath cycle come from if the Sabbath day doesnt land on even one Saturday in the Scriptures using the Biblical and Gregorian calendars? There is an abundance of facts in history that shows the seven-day week fixed cycle along with Saturday [Saturn) and Sunday (Sun) days of worship that we use today were established around the 4th century as a part of the eventual Julian calendar transformation from an eight-day fixed week to a seven-day fixed week. Around this time this calendar was set up and put in motion by pagan Rome and early papal Rome and Jews alike. They all had their various parts to play in it. So at that time the fixed seven-day week cycle calendar that we have today was set in motion Saturday day as the 7th day and Sunday as the 1st day. Sun Day used to be the 8th day and Saturn Day the 1th day when the Roman pagan Julian calendar was an eight-day fixed weekly calendar during the life of Christ, but it was eventually changed to a seven-day week. So the proof presented by us that the change from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar didnt change the day really doesnt matter if you started out with the wrong calendar in the first place. So this is not a very good proof for us to keep the Sabbath on a fixed weekly Saturday cycle. Jews Change Biblical Sabbath to Julian Fixed Weekly Saturday In history we find Hillel II the last president of the Sanhedrin was forced to set the Sabbath Day for the Jews to a fixed weekly Saturday on the Julian calendar. "Under the reign of Constantius (337-362) the persecutions of the Jews reached such a height that . . . the computation of the [Biblical] calendar [was] forbidden under pain of severe punishment" The Jewish Encyclopedia, Calendar.

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"Sabbath and New Moon (Rosh Hodesh), both periodically recur in the course of the year. The New Moon is still, and the Sabbath originally was, dependent upon the lunar cycle [Biblical luni-solar calendar]. Universal Jewish Encyclopedia, p. 410 The Sabbath, as marking the end of the week, reveals its lunar origin; the phases of the moon having taught . . . to divide the period elapsing between two new moons into four equal groups (weeks), the last day of eachin imitation of the moon's coming to rest, as it were - becoming the day of rest. Indications are not wanting that at first the New Moon festival was not counted among the seven days of the week; but after 7 x 4 (=28) days had elapsed, one or two days were intercalated as New Moon days, whereupon a new cycle of four weeks began, so that the Sabbath was a movable festival. Later the week and the Sabbath became fixed [4th century]; and this gradually resulted in taking away from the New Moon festival its popular importance. Jewish Encyclopedia .com, By Emil G. Hirsch, Ph.D., LL.D., Rabbi, Sinai Congregation; Professor of Rabbinical Literature and Philosophy, University of Chicago In the fourth century, Hillel II established a fixed calendar . . . Jewish Virtual Library, Jewish Calendar Declaring the new month by observation of the new moon, and the new year by the arrival of spring, can only be done by the Sanhedrin. In the time of Hillel II, the last President of the Sanhedrin, the Romans prohibited this practice. Hillel II was therefore forced to institute his fixed calendar, thus in effect giving the Sanhedrin's advance approval to the calendars of all future years. Torah.org, Judaism Site Numerous historical statements similar to the ones above could have been added, and you can locate these at the websites listed at the end of this article. From the evidence available, it appears that Hillel II excused the Jews from calculating their Sabbath days by Biblical luni-solar calendation. Talmudic tradition teaches that if one does not know when the Sabbath occurs, all that is required is that a person observe one day in seven. Under this rabbinical tradition, where ignorance exists, no law is broken. Thus, if knowledge of true calendation is lost, the Jews believe that worshiping on Saturday on a continuously fixed weekly cycle of the solar year, is acceptable. So it is that simple. This is where the fixed weekly cycle of the Saturday Sabbath came from, not from the Bible! The Jews recognize that the Sabbath day was originally based on the Biblical calendar and not on the Julian and Catholic fixed weekly cycle calendars. So the Jews have NOT been keeping the same Sabbath today as in the times of Moses and Christ, and their historians are the first to admit it. The Biblical Seven-Day Week Genesis 1 shows the creation week was literal and the basis for the seven-day week was established, but does it actually tell us when the week is to begin each time? Yes in

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Genesis 1:14-18 we see what determines when they should start. The lights were appointed to set or point out the seasons [moedim appointed times of holy or feast day meetings]. He made the moon to mark the seasons [moedim]; the sun knows its time for setting. Ps 104:19, English Standard Version. As a watchmaker sets his new watch to the correct time, our Creator set the moon to its initial correct phase. Which was the only holy day or feast day in place at the time of creation? The Seventh-Day Sabbath! The Scriptures tell us in over 200 verses that the faithful Hebrews kept track of the Sabbath according to the New Moon, and the New Moon was a day of worship. "For as the new heavens and the new earth which I will make shall remain before Me," says the Lord, 'so shall your descendants and your name remain. And it shall come to pass that from one New Moon to another, and from one Sabbath to another, all flesh shall come to worship before Me,' says the Lord." Isaiah 66:22, 23 NKJV. The Biblical luni-solar calendar week is made up of seven-day cycles, but they refresh with each New Moon, but it is a seven-day week, and not eight or ten days in length. Bible history is what reveals the fact that the Biblical calendar was luni-solar and the moon was created to regulate worship times! The Heavenly Father simply did not leave His sacred oracles of truth in the hands of the Jews, as many have believed. They were shown to be unfaithful repeatedly, and as early as the fourth century they bought into the Roman calendation principles. Progressive Truth for This Time God is now revealing to us this truth concerning his Holy Sabbath Day, and He wants to advance this new unfolding light in the final days of earths history through His people. Similar to the Jews when Christ came, we have to be very careful that our pride and confidence in our knowledge of the Scriptures and our preconceived notions keep us from receiving new light. We need to prayerfully study this out alone with God! "Jesus cannot yet come to earth. They must endure greater trials for His sake. They must give up errors and traditions received from men and turn wholly to God and His Word." Early Writings, p. 243. Are we truly longing for Jesus to return? Then we should be willing to take a serious look at what could be errors and traditions of men that we need to give up so He can return. There are some Bible verses where you can assume or bend them similar to how other churches today use various verses to prove the immortality of the soul, the everlasting hell, or Sunday worship. As an example, when you thoroughly study out the manna story, it actually proves the Biblical luni-solar calendar was being used, not the present day pagan Rome and Catholic seven-day fixed weekly cycles. E. G. White and the Saturday Sabbath Mrs. White never received a thus saith the Lord that the Sabbath was to be on a Saturday. Never! She was only shown that the seventh-day is the Sabbath as the 4th commandment states. There is no statement from her stating, The Lord showed me that Saturday is the day we should be keeping the Seventh-Day Sabbath on. With the

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thousands of pages of her writings and with the Sabbath being so important, why isnt there a statement like this? This alone shows the hand of God at work. Was the Lord saving the final unfolding of the full Sabbath truth for our day? We know she has always said truth is progressive and that we as a people will receive further new light in the future. Did she believe she was keeping the Sabbath on the correct day? Of course she did. She assumed that Saturday was the day to keep the Seventh-Day Sabbath on and that Christ died on a Friday as we all have. But the truth needed to unfold further when the church was ready. Did she have all truth? No, she would be the first to say that. Did she say truth is constantly unfolding? Yes! Would she accept this important unfolding light today? Yes she would! "There is no excuse for anyone in taking the position that there is no more truth to be revealed, and that all our expositions of Scripture are without an error. The fact that certain doctrines have been held as truth for many years by our people, is not a proof that our ideas are infallible. Age will not make error into truth, and truth can afford to be fair. No true doctrine will lose anything by close investigation." Councils to Writers and Editors, p. 35 "We have many lessons to learn, and many, many to unlearn. God and heaven alone are infallible. Those who think that they will never have to give up a cherished view, never have occasion to change an opinion, will be disappointed." Review and Herald, July 26, 1892. Has our Lord waited for the correct time to give us the full truth on the Sabbath? Could this be a great test for the Lords last day people? Are we willing to follow the Lamb wherever He goes Revelation 14.4? There is a story of a blind man arguing with a man who could see and saying, No, there isnt such a thing as color. And the man said, Of course there is, I can see green trees and the blue sky. But the blind man would have none of it and replies, I know this is true for all my life I have never seen such a thing as color, so I know color doesnt exist, and you cant prove it to me. We may think this story is ridiculous, but it applies to all who do not choose to use enlightened reason, but instead hold tightly to their bias beliefs and assumptions which blind them to any new light our Saviour tries to send them. The blind man firmly believing that there was no color did not make it so! Firmly and honestly believing the Lords Sabbath is on a Catholic Gregorian Saturday each week doesnt make it so! "Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD. Isaiah 1:18

There was a General Conference research committee in the 1930s with a list of members that seem like a veritable Whos Who of Seventh-day Adventist Church leadership. They were studying the Biblical calendar to confirm the Oct. 22, 1844 date, and during their studies were confronted with the crucifixion date landing on a day other than Friday which as you can see affects which day the Sabbath lands on. If you go back to the A.D. 31 calendar in this article and study it, you will discover what they discovered. Could it be that we have been following Catholic errors and traditions all these years on this

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subject? There are about 5,000 pages from this committees research in the Grace Amadon Collection at the Andrews University Archives. In a letter to Grace Amadon from M. L. Andreasen concerning the Biblical luni-solar calendar, he states, "If in the new calendar scheme we are considering adopting it should be admitted that local communities have the right of making their own observations that would determine the New Year, it would yet remain a question if the proper men competent for such observation would be available." Were they thinking about implementing it back then?

Has this short article sparked your interest in this subject and the importance it holds for you, your family, and your friends? This truly is just the tip of the iceberg of evidence to be found in the Scriptures and history concerning this subject. There is much, much more that our Lord is revealing to us today to support this subject matter. This short article was intended to arouse your thinking and encourage you to study further on this great ancient truth. The Lord is calling to all His faithful to come and study this out together. May you be richly blessed in your studies! Lead me in thy truth, and teach me. Psalm 25:5 Here is where you can go to find in-depth Scriptural and historical information and facts on this important study, and how the Creators Calendar works today: www.thecreatorscalendar.com www.4angelspublications.com (Grace Amadon Collection) www.worldslastchance.com The final battle of Armageddon, har moedim, is the same Mount Moedim which Lucifer claimed he would possess, sitting on the Mount of the Congregation [moedim appointed times of worship], receiving all worship. This is the climax of the entire conflict and it is fought, as always, on the battlefield of worship, as the Scriptures state, "if anyone worships the beast and his image . . . Revelation 14:9. As Lucifer states, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation [moedim], in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the Most High. Isaiah 14:13-14. In Revelation 14 our Creator states we should worship Him. He who controls the worlds calendar controls the worlds worship times, moedim, and thus, who you worship. For all nations have drunk of the wine of Babylon, even us. "He shall insult the Most High, he shall torment/wear out the holy ones of the Most High, and he shall attempt to change the calendar and the ordinance [Sabbath]." Daniel. 7:25, John Knox translation. Gods faithful people today are to repair the broken down wall as the last day prophecy foretells, Isaiah 58:12, and to prepare for the soon to come final great battle over whom do we worship, Armageddon, Revelation 16:16. Which side will you be on? The cloud is moving. We need to either follow or be left in the wilderness.

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