New Moon

Celebration of the New Moon: This was a special day of worship during
which the people rejoiced before the Lord (Hosea 2:11), and rested
from work (Amos 8:5; Num. 29: 1-3). People enjoyed a family festal
meal (1 Sam. 20:5, 18) and apparently consulted God’s prophet (2 Kings
4:23). Sacrifices, together with grain and drink offerings, were offered
at the Temple (Num. 28:11-15; 29:2-5). Every Israelite was expected to
participate in this celebration.
• 2. Theological Motivation: The institution of new moon festivals
seems related to the worship of the moon-gods in the ancient Near
East. New moon celebrations honored those gods, and in some places
those celebrations were performed every month. Among some
Canaanites the most important day-the day of the full moon-was
dedicated to the moon-god. Supposedly, moon-gods possessed
knowledge and shared it with their worshippers. They acted as judges
of heaven and earth and were considered the originators of life.
• The Lord prohibited the adoration of moon-gods by the Israelites (Deut.
17:3). But He knew that the moon was an impressive astral body and that
His people would be tempted to worship it (Deut. 4:19). Accordingly, God
instituted the celebration of the new moon in Israel . This was to be a day
to worship the Creator of the moon (cf. Gen. 1:16). It would remind the
Israelites that God appointed the moon to rule over the night (Ps. 136:9)
and mark the seasons (Ps. 104:19), that He established its orderly
function (Jer. 31:35), and that God, not the moon, was the judge of the
world. When He judges, the moon is inactive and loses its brilliance (Joel
3:12, 15). Besides, the moon was unable to give life to the dead (Jer. 8:1,
2) or to harm God’s servants (Ps. 121:6).
• While the moon-gods claimed to control people’s destiny, the
celebration of the new moon in Israel reminded God’s people that it
was the Lord who blessed, protected, and provided for them. The
new moon introduced a new fragment of time followed always by the
experience or announcement of a new beginning. It was during a new
moon that Noah, after the Flood, saw the tops of the mountains (Gen.
8:5) and dry land (verse 13). The Lord was restoring order to the earth
after a cataclysmic event. The Israelites arrived at Sinai on a new
moon and became God’s covenant people (Ex. 19:1). The tabernacle
was finished on a new moon (Ex. 40:2, 17), thus beginning a priestly
ministry that pointed to Christ.
• While the moon-gods claimed to be dispensers of knowledge, the
God of Israel was the true dispenser of knowledge. That may explain
why God gave the prophets revelations during the new moon and
why people consulted them. It was during a new moon that the Lord
for the first time spoke to Moses from the tent of meeting (Num. 1:1).
Ezekiel dated at least four of his revelations from God to the first day
of the month (Eze. 26:1; 29:17; 31:1; 32:1; see also Haggai 1:1), all of
them prophecies against the enemies of God’s people. The
celebration of the new moon served to discourage the worship of the
moon-gods among the Israelites.
• 3. Cultic Role of the New Moon: The primary function of the new
moon festival was calendrical, that is to say it was used to set the time
for the celebration of Israelite festivals. For instance, Passover was
celebrated on the fourteenth of the month (Ex. 12:18) and the Feast
of Unleavened Bread on the fifteenth of the month (the day of the full
moon). The Feast of the Trumpets was celebrated on the first day of
the seventh month, followed by the Day of Atonement on the tenth
day, and the Feast of Tabernacles on the fifteenth of the same month
(Lev. 23:24, 27, 34). The new moon prepared the Israelites spiritually
and psychologically for their cultic appointments with the Lord. That
seems to be another reason that the Lord instituted its observance.
• The Lunar Sabbath or the Seventh-Day Sabbath: Which?
• by Charles Whitaker (1944-2021) https://www.cgg.org/index.cfm/library/article/id/1652/lunar-sabbath-or-seventh-day-sabbath-which.htm
• Forerunner, "Ready Answer," March 30, 2015
• “Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it. . . .”—Genesis 2:3

• For millennia, most of the world has been using a week of seven days. These seven days continuously repeat in their accustomed order week after week after week. The first day of the week invariably follows the seventh day of the previous week with enduring regularity. That is how it has always been.

• Some people who keep the Sabbath are attempting to change that, believing that we have been wrong all along on how to determine the weekly Sabbath. They call this Sabbath the “lunar Sabbath,” so designated based on its relationship to the new moon, which is the marker for the start of Hebrew months. In their conception, our lunar Sabbaths occur during each Hebrew month, incrementally at intervals of seven days from the new moon. Hence, lunar Sabbaths fall on the 8th, 15th, 22nd and 29th days of each Hebrew month. (Instead, some lunar Sabbatarians observe the 7th, 14th, 21st and 28th days of each Hebrew month.)

• The lunar month, designated in the Hebrew calendar from new moon to new moon, is 29.5 days long. Since a calendar cannot divide days in half, in practice, some Hebrew months last 29 days, others last 30 days. (Lunar Sabbatarians express divided convictions concerning the way the “extra” days are handled. Not all of them treat them in the same way.)

• These extra day(s) in the lunar month mean that the lunar Sabbath falls on a different day of the week from lunar month to lunar month. The lunar Sabbath will fall on the same day of the week only four consecutive times before the end of the lunar month arrives and the lunar Sabbath is “reset” based on the next new moon.

• For example, it may fall on a Thursday in one Hebrew month, but on a Sunday in another lunar month, since the lunar Sabbath is reset after the passage of 29 or 30 days, that is, reset with the coming of another new moon. (The “mathematical” way of looking at this is that seven, the number of days in a week, does not divide evenly into either 29 or 30.)

• How Does the Lunar Sabbath Differ from the Seventh-Day Sabbath?

• The weekly Sabbath observed by the Jews and by the churches of God is called the “seventh-day Sabbath.” It is so named because it is the seventh day of a recurring seven-day cycle that came into existence at the end of Creation Week, when God pronounced the seventh day as holy (Genesis 2:3). He taught the seventh-day Sabbath to the children of Israel just after they left Egypt by controlling the way manna fell during the week, as related in Exodus 16. It fell every day except on the seventh-day Sabbath. The Sabbath became enshrined in the Hebrew calendar. The Jews have been observing that recurring seventh day ever since that
time.

• The primary difference between the seventh-day Sabbath and the lunar Sabbath is this: The seventh-day Sabbath does not “reset” with the coming of each lunar month. The lunar month is irrelevant to determining the arrival of the seventh-day Sabbath, which is based simply on a recurring seven-day cycle. Hence, the seventh-day Sabbath always falls on the same day of the seven-day week. It falls on a day the Jews call Sabbath, which the Romans named Saturday.

• Is There Scriptural Basis for the Lunar Sabbath?

• Lunar Sabbatarians defend their notion of pegging the weekly Sabbath on the lunar month by citing primarily two scriptures. One is Genesis 1:14 (Holman Christian Standard Bible [HCSB]): “Then God said, ‘Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night. They will serve as signs for festivals and for days and years.’”

• The Hebrew word translated as “festivals” is moedim, a word that is key to lunar Sabbatarians’ arguments. Moedim, a plural noun (#4150 in Strong’s Hebrew Concordance) occurs for the first time in this passage. Translators often render it as “seasons” or “times.” Properly, it denotes “appointed seasons” or “appointed times,” referring to the festivals of God, His feast days. Today, we generally call these festivals by the term “holy days.” Lunar Sabbatarians, looking at Genesis 1:14, correctly conclude that the sun—and particularly the moon—play a key role in establishing the seasons, and most specifically, the appointed feast days, the holy
days of God.

• The biblical chapter that summarizes these festival days, these moedim, is Leviticus 23. This is the second passage on which lunar Sabbatarians focus. Most specifically, they cite Leviticus 23:1-4. (Note: Moedim is translated as “appointed times” in verses 2 and 4.)

• The Lord spoke to Moses: “Speak to the Israelites and tell them: These are My appointed times, the times of the Lord that you will proclaim as sacred assemblies. Work may be done for six days, but on the seventh day there must be a Sabbath of complete rest, a sacred assembly. You are not to do any work; it is a Sabbath to the Lord wherever you live. These are the Lord’s appointed times, the sacred assemblies you are to proclaim at their appointed times.” (HCSB) (emphasis ours)

• The remainder of Leviticus 23 discusses the moedim, the holy days, in their sequence through the year.

• Here is the thrust of the lunar Sabbatarians’ arguments. They note that the weekly Sabbath, discussed in Leviticus 23:3, appears in the midst of the discussion of the moedim, the appointed times, mentioned in verses 2 and 4. They submit that the inclusion of the weekly Sabbath in verse 3, in the context of the moedim, the focus of the chapter, proves that the weekly Sabbath is connected to the moedim. Hence, they conclude that the moon, as mentioned in Genesis 1:14, is the basis for determining the weekly Sabbath, just as it is basic in determining the arrival of the holy days.

• In other words, lunar Sabbatarians argue that the moon, which determines when a new month begins, also determines when the count toward the weekly Sabbaths begins.

• The Holy Days: One Cycle

• Lunar Sabbatarians’ a priori dismissal of an important fact has led them to a wrong conclusion. That fact is this: God recognizes two distinct cycles in determining Sabbaths: He created an annual cycle. He also created a weekly one. They are not the same.

• The annual cycle, which defines the appointed feasts (moedim), is intrinsically connected with the moon, as Genesis 1:14 says. Specifically, the annual cycle is connected with the new moon, which in Hebrew is khodesh (Strong’s #2320). The annual cycle actually begins on a new moon, the one starting the Hebrew month of Abib. The fall of most moedim, that is, most appointed festivals, is determined by the occurrence of a new moon.

• For example, the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread falls on the fifteenth day of Abib. It falls fifteen days into the month of Abib—fifteen days after the new moon that ushered in Abib. Likewise, the Feast of Trumpets is the first day (that is, the new moon itself) of the seventh month, Tishri. The Day of Atonement falls on the tenth day of Tishri.

• As an illustration of the importance of the new moon in determining the “appointed feasts,” notice Leviticus 23:4-6 (HCSB), which renders khodesh as “month”: “The Passover to the Lord comes in the first month, at twilight on the fourteenth day of the month. The Festival of Unleavened Bread to the Lord is on the fifteenth day of the same month.”

• Khodesh appears ten times in Leviticus 23, always in reference to determining the day on which the moedim arrive. This stress on the new moon is consistent with God’s comments in Genesis 1:14 that the moon would “serve as signs for festivals.”

• So, the fall of the annual “appointed feasts” is based on the arrival of new moons, which define the start of the Hebrew lunar months. The annual holy days define one cycle, a cycle of seven holy days throughout the year.

• The Weekly Sabbath: Another Cycle

• The fall of the seventh-day Sabbath is defined according to a second cycle. It is a separate cycle, a different one. Importantly, in the description of the seventh-day Sabbath, the concepts of moedim and khodesh are not at all present. For example, neither word appears in Leviticus 23:3: “Work may be done for six days, but on the seventh day there must be a Sabbath of complete rest, a sacred assembly. You are not to do any work; it is a Sabbath to the Lord wherever you live” (HCSB).

• Genesis 2 records God’s creation of the seventh-day Sabbath and hence, the institution of the weekly occasion. In this passage as well, neither the word moedim (appointed feasts) nor khodesh (new moon) appear even once:

• By the seventh day God completed His work that He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work that He had done. God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, for on it He rested from His work of creation. (Genesis 2:2-3 [HCSB])

• What is strikingly stressed in this passage is the cycle of the seventh day, not the arrival of a new moon. Other verses that stress the concept of “the seventh day” as a definitive element in the seventh-day Sabbath’s timing include Exodus 23:12; 31:15, 17; 34:21; 35:2; and Deuteronomy 5:13-14.

• Finally, khodesh and moedim are conspicuous by their absence in the Sabbath commandment itself—not even a hint:

• Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy: You are to labor six days and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. You must not do any work—you, your son or daughter, your male or female slave, your livestock, or the foreigner who is within your gates. For the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and everything in them in six days; then He rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and declared it holy. (Exodus 20:8-11 [HCSB])

• In each of these pivotal passages concerning the weekly Sabbath, the word moedim is absent. Its absence shows that the weekly occasion is not an “appointed feast” and therefore not part and parcel with the annual occasions, which are defined by a separate cycle. In addition, in each of these same passages, the word khodesh is also absent, indicating that the new moon is not a factor in determining the coming of the seventh-day Sabbath.

• In summary then, lunar Sabbatarians ignore the clear fact that God has instituted two discrete cycles and with them, two different methods of determining the fall of Sabbaths. Lunar Sabbatarians apply the method of counting the holy days—which at its core does involve the new moons—to determining the occurrences of the weekly Sabbaths. However, the Scriptures do not support using the same method for both cycles.

• To reiterate: The new moon and the lunar month are irrelevant in determining which day the seventh-day Sabbath falls on.

• Did Christ Keep the Lunar Sabbath?

• Christ, our example, did not observe the lunar Sabbath. As recorded in Luke 4:16-17 (HCSB), Christ “came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. As usual, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath day and stood up to read. The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to Him. . . .”

• The Jews, as Paul wrote in Romans 3:2, had received the “oracles” (that is, the revelation or the words) of God. The Torah contains many of those “oracles,” including the oracle of the seventh-day Sabbath. God deeply engrained the correct Sabbath day into the consciousness of the children of Israel during their wanderings in the wilderness of Zin, and, as a result of this weekly reminder by the absence of manna on the Sabbath, they came to enshrine that day into what has come to be called the Hebrew calendar.

• During Christ’s time on earth, the Jews continued to keep the correct weekly occasion. If Christ had kept the lunar Sabbath, chances are He would have been reading to an empty room that day in the synagogue. There would have been no one present there to hand Him the scroll of Isaiah. The Jews would have been elsewhere.

• The Jews certainly took exception to the way Jesus kept the Sabbath. For instance, they expressed their dismay when His disciples plucked corn on the Sabbath or when He healed on the Sabbath. However, the Jewish leadership had no issue with the day He kept. If they had such an issue, we certainly would read about it in the Gospels. Yet, that issue never arose.

• The absence of any dispute over the correct day is an “argument from absence” that Christ kept the same weekly Sabbath that the Jews did—the same day they still keep. He kept the same weekly occasion the church of God keeps today. It is the seventh-day Sabbath, the Sabbath described in Genesis 2:2-3 and in Exodus 20:8-11.

• Pentecost and the Lunar Sabbath

• Probably one of the best arguments against the lunar Sabbath concerns Pentecost. God instructs that the Day of Pentecost, correctly counted, will always occur on the day after a Sabbath:

• You are to count seven complete weeks starting from the day after the Sabbath, the day you brought the sheaf of the presentation offering. You are to count 50 days until the day after the seventh Sabbath and then present an offering of new grain to the Lord. (Leviticus 23:15-16 [HCSB])

• So, the requirement that Pentecost fall on the day after the seventh Sabbath becomes a “check point” to ensure that we have counted correctly.

• A person keeping the lunar Sabbath will never find an occasion where the count of those fifty days brings him to the day after the Sabbath he is keeping. Try it for yourself with paper and pencil; it will soon become clear that absolutely no scenario exists where Pentecost falls on the day after a lunar Sabbath. It will never happen.

• If the concept of the lunar Sabbath were correct, the requirement that Pentecost fall after a Sabbath would be impossible to meet. The model that lunar Sabbatarians use to determine the Sabbath does not mesh with the instruction concerning Pentecost, as stated in Leviticus 23:15-16.

• More Than a Minor Miracle

• If we counted the number of days from any seventh-day Sabbath back to the original (seventh-day) Sabbath, that is, all the way back to the one described in Genesis 2:2-3, we would come up with a large number. As we tirelessly counted, we could “count” on this: Whatever number of days defines that interval of time, it would always be divisible by seven, the number of days in a week. The number of days from any seventh-day Sabbath to the original Sabbath will be divisible by seven.

• That is an amazing fact. Throughout history, God has preserved the knowledge of the seventh-day Sabbath. Considering all the various calendars that have been developed over the years by pagan, godless individuals, some of those calendars basing their weeks on more than seven days, it is indeed a miracle that God has preserved the knowledge of the true Sabbath day to the present. Considering all the troubles that the Jews, who preserved that knowledge in their calendar, have encountered, it is more than a minor miracle.

• It is fitting that we thank God for preserving a knowledge of the seventh-day Sabbath over the years for us. He did not command that the seventh day be kept and then hide it from us. Rather, our Provider has taught us the correct day; not a day has been lost in the count. We should not be deceived by the false notion of the lunar Sabbath, which is in fact one of the lies Satan has developed to hide the correct seventh day.
https://www.adventistbiblicalresearch.org/
materials/what-about-a-lunar-sabbath/
• I’ve been told that the biblical Sabbath was a lunar Sabbath fixed by
the moon, rather than a specific day of the week independent of the
moon or the sun. What do you think?
• Any biblical evidence to support this proposal is lacking. Therefore, I
feel uncomfortable honoring the issue by addressing it here. But
apparently I should say something about it. If the time for the Sabbath
was determined by the moon, then the Sabbath will have to be
observed at different days during the month and not on the seventh
day of the week. The Sabbath could be any day of the week, based on
the time of the new moon. Let me say a few things about this matter.
• 1. The Israelite Calendar: The Israelite calendar was lunisolar, that is
to say time was measured on the basis of the new moon (the rotation
of the moon around the earth) and also the sun (the rotation of the
earth around the sun). A lunar calendar of 12 months is about 11 days
shorter than the solar calendar, which is approximately 365 days. In
the ancient world this was solved by adding an extra month seven
times in 19 years. In the Bible the moon calendar was used to fix the
time for the festivals—for instance, 14 days after the new moon came
Passover (Num. 28:16). Apparently some people are arguing that the
Sabbath itself was to be observed seven days after the first day of the
month.
• 2. The Sabbath and the Moon: At the beginning of the twentieth
century the connection between the Sabbath and the moon was
proposed and defended by a number of critical scholars. They
rejected the biblical origin of the Sabbath and suggested that its origin
was related to several “evil days” in the Babylonian calendar, including
the day of the full moon, during which people rested. Those days
occurred in a sequence of about seven days. Further study indicated
that the so-called “evil days” were not a sequence of seven days; they
were the first, seventh, fourteenth, nineteenth, twenty-first, and
twenty-eighth days of the month. That theory has since been
abandoned.
• 3. Genesis 1 and the Sabbath:The origin of the biblical Sabbath is
definitely connected with the creation week. It was instituted by God
three days after the creation of the moon (Gen. 1:14; 2:2), not the
seventh day after the first day of the month. It was to function
independent of the month on a specific sequence of days
unconnected from the moon and the sun, but uniquely grounded in
God’s power to rule over time. The seventhness of the Sabbath is
related to the passing of time, from the beginning of God’s creating
activity on Planet Earth to its close. This is indeed a unique divine act,
a fragmentation of time in a sequence of seven days exclusively fixed
and governed by God Himself.
• 4. Sabbath and Festivals: A lunar Sabbath would imply that the
Sabbath is part of the Israelite festivals, but that is not the case. The
seventh-day Sabbath was instituted long before the festivals were
given to the Israelites. The Hebrew term translated “feasts, festivals,”
is môcadîm, and it means “fixed/appointed time, meetings.” It refers
to different activities that were not necessarily dated by the lunar
calendar (e.g., Jer. 8:17; Hosea 2:9). Even if one were to argue that the
term applies to the Sabbath, it does not follow that the time for the
Sabbath was fixed by the moon (cf. Lev. 23:2). Besides, the Bible
makes clear that the Sabbath is to be differentiated from the festivals
(Lev. 23:37, 38).
• Finally, the Sabbath rest was different from the rest required during the
ceremonial Sabbaths. Leviticus 23:3 states that during the Sabbath the
Israelites were “not to do any work.” But during the time of the sacred
assembly the people were commanded to “do no regular work” (23:8, 21,
25, 35, 36, NIV). This indicates that there was a type of work they were
allowed to do during the festivals that was forbidden during the Sabbath.

• Although the intentions of those promoting the lunar Sabbath may be

good, they have to be aware of the fact that they are unintentionally
introducing and promoting a sabbath rest that is different from the biblical
seventh-day Sabbath rest.
• the phrase “ ‘ “statute forever throughout your generations” ’ ” (Lev. 23:14, NKJV). The
phrase “statute forever” does not mean a perpetual stipulation; otherwise this would mean
that we still have to do all the sacrifices. Indeed, the same phrase “statute forever” is also
used for the sacrifices (Lev. 3:17) and all the other rituals associated with the tabernacle: the
ablutions (Exod. 30:21), the priestly garments (Exod.28:43), the lamps (Exod. 27:20, 21), etc.
• The use of the expression “forever” does not mean a perpetual obligation but should be
understood within the context of the temple—that is, as long as the temple was standing.
Now that the sacrifices are no longer possible because of the absence of the temple, and
because prophecy contained within the sacrifices has been fulfilled in Christ, it follows that
sacrifices and related rituals, such as Levitical festivals, are no longer mandatory. The type
has met the Antitype. To engage in festivals with the idea that they are compulsory for our
own salvation makes the Antitype, the Messiah, altogether irrelevant.
• the same expression “forever” is used for the covenant of the circumcision (Gen.17:13). Does
this mean that circumcision continues as still valid today? If that were the case, this would
then contradict the recommendation of the apostles in Acts 15. All these observations help
us understand why the expression “forever” with respect to feasts does not support an
everlasting requirement.
• One function of the feasts was its application to the historical life of Israel in Canaan. When the temple was
destroyed and the Jews were exiled from the land, they were obliged to create and develop new traditions
for the observance of the feasts adapted to the situation of the exile, that is, without the temple and the
sacrifices.2 Also, the fact that Jesus and His disciples observed the festivals and, later, early Christians
(Jewish Christians) as well, even without sacrifices, suggests that it is not inconceivable for Christians to
celebrate the festivals.
• Yet, this example cannot be used as an argument to justify the Christian celebration of the feasts since
Jesus and the early Christians kept not only the Jewish festivals but also other cultural and ceremonial
practices, such as circumcision, the wearing of the tallith (prayer shawl), etc., practices that were not
adopted by Gentile Christians on the basis of Acts 15. Furthermore, Christians, especially Seventh-day
Adventists, do not have a historical festival tradition showing how to celebrate those festivals. How, then,
will they celebrate the festivals? On what grounds will they justify one practice over another? Their claim
to observe the festivals the biblical way stumbles on the fact that the biblical way requires the offering of
sacrifices in the temple (Deut. 16:5). Without the support of a historical and cultural tradition, the keeping
of the feasts is bound to generate tensions and dissensions in the church. Moreover, since no specific
biblical law exists indicating how these laws should be observed outside of the temple, they will have to
produce laws and traditions of their own. Ángel Rodríguez is right when he warns, “Those who promote
the observance of the festivals have to create their own personal way of celebrating the feasts and in the
process create human traditions that are not based on an explicit expression of God’s will
• THE SABBATH AND THE FESTIVALS
•The practice of festivals may even affect our theology of the Sabbath. The Bible clearly explains the essential
difference between the feasts and the Sabbath. Festivals are not like the weekly Sabbath. Unlike the festivals,
the Sabbath, as a sign, reminds us of the creation of the universe and is therefore eternal in its relevance. God
gave the Sabbath at the end of the Creation week when there was no sin on earth and hence no sacrifice and no
feasts. The Sabbath, unlike the festivals, was a part of the Ten Commandments and given to all of humanity. In
fact, its origin predates the gift of the Torah to Israel on Sinai (Exod.16:23–28). Furthermore, Leviticus 23:3, 4,
which lists the festivals along with the Sabbath, clearly suggests that an essential difference exists between the
two categories of holy days. In Leviticus 23, the Sabbath is mentioned at the beginning of the list (v. 3). Then the
other holy days are listed under the designation “ ‘ “these are the feasts of the Lord” ’ ” (v. 4, NKJV), suggesting
thereby that the Sabbath belongs to another category than the feasts. Although the Sabbath also implies
sacrifices (Num. 28:9, 10), it is significant that the regular phrase “sin offering for atonement,” which always
appears in relation to the festivals, is absent in reference to the Sabbath. This clear distinction suggests that the
function of sacrifices in the context of the Sabbath is essentially different from their function in the context of
the festivals. The Sabbath differs, not only from any other day of the week, but also from any feast day. It is
noteworthy that this difference and even the superiority of the Sabbath over the festivals is systematically
indicated in the liturgic reading of the Torah: we have more ‘alyot (ascents to the platform to read the Torah) on
the day of Sabbath (seven) than on any festival day. To equate the Sabbath with the festivals is fundamentally
wrong and affects the true meaning of Sabbath, ultimately compromising its mandatory character.
• Realizing that the Sabbath differs from the festivals, and is even more important than them,
will help us understand the nature of the connection between the two holy appointments.
The fact that Leviticus 23 brings them together while marking the difference between them
suggests, indeed, that the Sabbath is the crown, the climax of all festivals.
•Paradoxically, this special connection between the Sabbath and the Levitical festivals brings
out, in fact, a lesson about the relative value of the festivals versus the absolute value of the
Sabbath. Instead of leading to the promotion of the observance of festivals, the study of the
festivals should lead to a better understanding, appreciation, and experience of the Sabbath.
For the Sabbath “is the foundation of all sacred time,” 4 and thus contains and fulfills all the
values and truths intimated by the festivals.
•THE SABBATH AND THE NEW MOON FESTIVAL
•Within the festivals, the New Moon Festival occupies only a secondary place. Unlike other biblical
holy days, the new moon never qualifies as a sacred day on which all labor is prohibited. 5 During
the period of the first temple, it was relegated to a “semi-festival” status, and its observance
disappeared totally during the second temple period; thus, by the middle of the fourth century
when the sages had established a permanent calendar, the proclamation of the new moon day was
discontinued.6 Jewish tradition generally assigns a “minor” role to the New Moon Festival. 7
•Therefore, it is surprising that the New Moon Festival has received renewed attention, especially
among Messianic Jews and even some Adventists. One justification for such observance is
Isaiah 66:23 (NKJV), “ ‘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.” This text is used to
suggest that the New Moon Festival will be observed in heaven along with the Sabbath. But the text
does not speak so much about the observance of those two days, per se; rather, it emphasizes the
continuity of worship, a characteristic of the new earth. For that purpose, the biblical author refers
to the two extremities of time: “from . . . to.” What this verse actually says is that the worship
continues as an activity of eternity—“from New Moon to New Moon” and “from Sabbath to
Sabbath”; as if to say, from month to month, from week to week.
• A second reason offered for the observance of the new moon feast is that the moon determines the
Sabbath day. On the basis of biblical texts, such as Genesis 1:14 and Psalm 104:19, it is argued that
the weekly Sabbath was originally tied to the lunar cycle. Indeed, both texts relate the moon to the
seasons (mo‘adim). Since Leviticus 23 includes the Sabbath in the category of (“seasons,”
“convocations”; see v. 2), and since the moon rules the seasons (Gen. 1:14), some conclude that the
moon also rules the Sabbath. This argument raises a number of problems, including the following:
• 1. The meaning of the Hebrew word mo‘adim. This word relates to the verb y‘d with which it is
also associated (Exod. 30:36; 2 Sam. 20:5). This verb means “to appoint” a time or a place (
2 Sam. 20:5; Jer. 47:7). The word mo‘adim refers to “appointments,” “meetings,” or “convocations”
in time or space. Now, not all the appointments (mo‘adim) are ruled by the moon. When
Jeremiah 8:7 uses the word mo‘adim to refer to the migration times of the stork and other
migratory birds, it does not imply that the migrations of the stork are governed by the moon, since
the stork returns to Palestine regularly every spring. The word mo‘adim simply refers to a specific
time or place appointed, either by humans (1 Sam. 20:35) or by God (Gen. 18:14), and could be
weekly (1 Sam. 13:8), monthly, yearly (Gen. 17:21), or even prophetic (Dan. 12:7); and is not
necessarily always dependent on the moon.
• 2. The idea that the Sabbath is dependent on the moon was in fact originally borrowed from
the historical-critical presupposition of the Babylonian influence on the Bible. According to
that view, the Sabbath was originally taken either from the Babylonian custom of the lunar
days, evil/taboo days associated with lunar phases falling on days 7, 14, 19, 21, and 28 of the
month, or from the monthly, full-moon day (shab/pattu). But this claim has no biblical
support whatsoever and is no longer taken seriously by biblical scholars. 8
• 3. The idea of the dependence of the Sabbath on the moon—placing the Sabbath on any day
of the week, depending on the movements of the moon—goes against the testimony of
history. First, it goes against the testimony of the Jews. Indeed, millions of Jews have kept the
seventh-day Sabbath on Saturday for thousands of years, and this practice was never
changed or lost by either the Julian or Gregorian calendar; the change only affected the
number of the days and never the days of the week.9 The Jews still keep the same seventh-
day Sabbath that was given at Creation, the same day that was commanded at Sinai and kept
by Jesus and the apostles; that is, our Saturday. The claim that connects Sabbath to the moon
and makes it fall on Tuesday, or any other moon-dependent day, is, indeed, a way of
replacing the true Sabbath with another day, based on human speculation, just as human
tradition replaced Sabbath with Sunday.
•4. The argument that the day of the crucifixion of Jesus was Passover— that is, the 14th day
from the new moon (Exod. 12:6; and, at the same time, the Sabbath day}—cannot be used to
support the idea that the Sabbath depends on the moon. According to the testimony of the
Gospels, Jesus was crucified on the preparation day (Friday) and not on Sabbath.
•5. The fact that the function of the moon begins on the fourth day of Creation week (
Gen. 1:14–19) makes it impossible to identify the Sabbath, coming three days later, as a moon
day.
• Seventh-day Adventist Christians accept the ongoing requirement of Sabbath rest. So if we are to consistently
follow biblical teaching and obey God, shouldn’t we also keep the festivals? Some say yes. Others say, “No,
the festivals are not for Christians.” How does the Bible guide us on this issue?
• Let’s begin by recalling the biblical instructions regarding the festivals. Exodus 23 records God’s command:
“Three times you shall keep a feast to Me in the year: You shall keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread (you
shall eat unleavened bread seven days, as I commanded you, at the time appointed in the month of Abib, for
in it you came out of Egypt; none shall appear before Me empty); and the Feast of Harvest, the firstfruits of
your labors which you have sown in the field; and the Feast of Ingathering at the end of the year, when you
have gathered in the fruit of your labors from the field. Three times in the year all your males shall appear
before the Lord God” (verses 14-17).2
•Festivals and Gifts
•This passage refers to the three pilgrimage festivals, when all Israelite males were to go from their homes and
appear before the Lord at one place of worship. Following the construction of the tabernacle, this one place was
wherever the sanctuary was located at the time. Later the designated place was at a permanent Temple in
Jerusalem (Deut. 12:4-18; 1 Kings 6-8). The festivals celebrated the lordship of the God of Israel, who had
redeemed them in their past history (“for in it you came out of Egypt” [Ex. 23:15]) and who provided for their
ongoing needs through agricultural blessings (“the firstfruits of your labors which you have sown in the field”;
“when you have gathered in the fruit of your labors from the field” [verse 16]).
• What is meant by the words “none shall appear before Me empty” (verse 15)? Here the Hebrew word
translated “empty” means “empty-handed” (compare the same word in Gen. 31:42; Ex. 3:21, etc.), that is,
without a gift for God (compare Ex. 34:20; 1 Sam. 6:3).3 God instructed the Israelite males to appear before
Him in order to acknowledge His lordship over them and giving this required gift. Such a gift served as a
kind of “tribute,” equivalent to that which a human overlord could expect of them (Judges 3:15; 2 Sam. 8:2).
• So what kinds of gifts did the Lord expect from His people on their festival occasions? Numbers 28 and 29
specify what the Israelite nation was to offer Him at all sacred times, including the pilgrimage festivals and
other special days: animal sacrifices. This explains why Moses had insisted to Pharaoh that when his people
would go from Egypt to celebrate a festival to the Lord, they would need to take their flocks and herds with
them (Ex. 10:9). Not only the nation, but also individual Israelites and their families sacrificed animals on
annual sacred occasions (for example, Ex. 12; 1 Sam. 1:3-5, 21).
• By offering animals, God’s chosen people were following the example of Abel, whose acceptable gift (same
Hebrew word as “tribute” in Judges 3:15) for showing loyalty to the Lord was an animal sacrifice (Gen. 4:4).
Such a gift expressed faith in the coming Redeemer: “The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world”
(John 1:29). God’s requirement of animal sacrifices in Old Testament times proclaimed the message that
fallen human beings can enjoy a relationship with God only by accepting the sacrifice of His Son on their
behalf.
• If we say that the divine commands to keep the festivals are still in effect for Christians, it is obvious that we
must keep them according to the biblical instructions. Those require traveling to Jerusalem three times a year
to offer animal sacrifices officiated by divinely authorized and ritually pure priests, who are descendants of
Aaron, at God’s consecrated Temple (compare Lev. 8; Num. 3:10; 1 Kings 8). We can get to Jerusalem, but
the rest is impossible because of the harsh reality that the only sacrificial system ordained by God on earth
came to a crashing halt when the Romans destroyed the Temple in A.D. 70. Now nobody can observe any of
the annual festivals required by the Torah ?(= Pentateuch) according to God’s instructions, even if they
believe they must. Such biblical laws that require and regulate institutions that no longer exist (in this case the
temple system) do not literally apply to us.4 Yet, the festival texts teach us the ongoing principle that we need
to regularly celebrate God’s redemption and sustaining power.5
• Not only is the earthly Temple physically gone; it lost its religious significance while it was still standing
when Christ uttered the fateful words: “See! Your house [not My house!] is left to you desolate” (Matt. 23:38;
compare Eze. 10-11), and its veil was torn from top to bottom when He died, thereby exposing and
desecrating its most holy apartment (Matt. 27:51). Thus the Messiah ended the real function of the sacrificial
system (Dan. 9:27), although the ritual performances continued for a few more decades.
• Today nobody keeps the festivals in the biblical way. However, Jewish tradition has creatively adapted their
observance to life without Temple and sacrifice. This is done by taking biblical practices that can be done
without those, such as eating unleavened bread and bitter herbs (Ex. 12:8) and making booths as temporary
dwelling spaces (Lev. 23:42, 43), and adding other activities to them. The result is a lively and powerful
system of celebration and teaching designed to preserve the memory of God’s mighty acts from one
generation to another (compare Ex. 13:8). But such adaptations should not be confused with the biblical
manner of festival observance, which has animal sacrifice at its core.
•Festival Adaptation
•There is one festival adaptation that Christ Himself has given us: the Lord’s Supper (Matt. 26:26-29), which is
a modified Passover service (compare verses 17-20). The Lord’s Supper does not include the central element of
the Passover ritual—the lamb—because Jesus has already come as our Passover sacrifice (1 Cor. 5:7). However,
He used bread and wine, which were parts of the animal sacrifices (Num. 15:1-12), to symbolize His body and
blood as a remembrance of His sacrifice (see also ?1 Cor. 11:23-26).6 If Christ required Christians to keep the
other festivals, He would have shown us how to adapt them too. But He did not.
• The biblical festivals not only commemorated past events, such as the Israelites’ departure from Egypt and
life in the wilderness (Ex. 12-13; Lev. 23:42, 43); they also served as acted-out prophecies of future salvation
events. Prophetic aspects of the spring festivals were fulfilled on those occasions at the beginning of the
Christian Era. Passover prefigures Christ’s sacrifice (John 19:36, citing Ex. 12:46; 1 Cor. 5:7). The sheaf of
grain raised (so-called “waved”) on the day after the Sabbath at the beginning of the barley harvest (Lev.
23:10, 11) pointed to the resurrection of Christ as the “firstfruits” of those who would rise from the dead (1
Cor. 15:20-23). The Festival of Weeks (Pentecost) at the beginning of the wheat harvest (Lev. 23:15-21)
foreshadowed the early “harvest” of souls who accepted Christ on the day of Pentecost through the
outpouring of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2).
• Ezekiel 46:1,3
• Thus saith the Master YHWH; 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. Likewise the people of the land shall worship at the door of this gate
• before YHWH in the Sabbaths and in the New Moons.
• As the passage states, the day of the New Moon was not an ordinary working day. The
• prophet Ezekiel, speaking by the inspiration of YHWH, tells us it is not counted as one of the six
• workdays, but instead is separate and distinct from both the working days and the weekly
• Sabbath. The day of the New Moon was to be a day of worship to YHWH, not only then (and
• now), but also at a future time in the new heavens and new earth wherein dwells righteousness
• (2 Peter 3:13).
• Isaiah 66:22-23
• For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith
• YHWH, 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 YHWH.
• Genesis 1:14-16. This
• passage speaks of the two great lights in the heavens, along with the
stars.
• And Elohim said, let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to
divide the day from the
• night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and
years.