Oh, it's way worse than that, Robski. The moon takes about 27.3 days (the “sidereal month”) to orbit the earth, but because the earth itself is in motion in its orbit around the sun, it takes 29.530588 days (the “synodic month”) to return to the same relative point in our celestial sphere—this synodic month is marked by our observation of the phases of the moon. That means that in any given "month" (as observed by the phase of the moon---that is, a lunar month) you're going to be off by roughly a day and a half if you're trying to line up the Sabbath day with the lunar cycle, since 7 doesn't go into 29.53 evenly. The Hebrews were instructed to not only observe the weekly Sabbath, but also each new moon, although the Torah makes no attempt to corelate them. So to my mind, they're both significant, but for different reasons.

The Sabbath (the last day of a seven-day week) is relatively easy to figure out---even the second Temple era rabbis had observed that Yahweh's plan for man's tenure on the earth would mirror the seven day week. They said there would be two thousand years of chaos, two thousand of Torah, two thousand of Messiah (what's the Hebrew word for "oops?") and a final one thousand year period of renewal---something we today would call the Millennial reign of Yahshua. The Millennium is thus represented by the Sabbath day.

The significance of the month is harder to see. Never given it much thought before. It appears that its primary significance is that it's cyclical. One begins at the new moon with darkness, and moves toward a season of light. It may be noteworthy that every mo'ed of Yahweh falls in the part of the lunar cycle that fits its spiritual character: Nisan 14, 15, and 16 (Passover, Unleavened Bread, and Firstfruits) are at the full moon---the phase of maximum light. Pentecost (Sivan 6, the Feast of Weeks---the inauguration of the ekklesia) is "dark but getting lighter." And the world is plunged back into darkness at Tishri 1, Yom Teruah, the Feast of Trumpets---which marks the rapture, the exodus of the ekklesia from this world prior to the Tribulation. By Tishri 10, The Day of Atonement, it's getting light again, and we reach maximum brightness when King Yahshua takes the throne on the Feast of Tabernacles, Tishri 15, the full moon.

I honestly can't see the point in trying to force every seven day week into a 29.5300588-day month. What's really significant to me, rather, is that both the definitive Feast of Unleavened Bread (in 33) and the coming definitive Feast of Tabernacles (in 2033) will fall not only at the full moon (as they must, being on the 15th of the lunar month) but also on Sabbath days (as they're required to do by scripture). We as believers should be looking for truth, not mere fact.

kp

If I were a betting man, I'd be willing to lay down odds that the Sabbath is precisely where it's supposed to be---that the children of Israel haven't gotten jogged off a day or two in the last 3,500 years. After all, they've never been reduced to a population of, say, dozens---even in the dark days of Elijah, when it seemed to the prophet that "nobody" was following Yahweh anymore, there were still (according to Yahweh's count) "still seven thousand who had not bowed the knee to Ba'al." That's seven thousand guys who had godly wives who, when they got confused, could tell them, "You idiot, put that hammer down, it's almost sunset: it'll be Shabbat in fifteen minutes!" There's no chance that they---as a nation---lost track. Not even in the diaspora.

You've gotta ask yourself: who would demand "proof for a seven-day week that's not linked to the lunar calendar"? That's like asking for proof that the sky is blue or that pigs don't fly. There's no "proof" offered, because the truth is butt-obvious. You count the days from Sabbath to Sabbath. It's not hard. One, two, three.... And you observe the phases of the moon. If you have clear skies, you can pin it down within a couple months of observation to a time span of about twenty nine and a half days. It's not rocket science (at least, not calculating the length of the synodic lunar month).

What's intriguing, however, is the factoid (and I haven't spent any time trying to verify or deny this) that significant stuff in God's plan "always" happens in months when the Sabbath falls on a new moon. That's maybe something worth chasing down. By the way, although Ezekiel makes specific mention of new moon observances, it goes all the way back to Numbers 28:11-15 where there's instruction for what to offer on the occasion of the beginning of each month. In Exodus 12, it is clear that the Israelites were to scrupulously keep track of the date according to the lunar calendar that was to start at the new moon in Abib/Nisan every year. One thing's for sure: I like your new word---"propheticness"---Robski.

kp

Shabbat Shalom,
I hope everyone is recognizing and rejoicing in Abba YHWH's blessings on this Shabbat. I personally am thankful for the continued health of my watermelon and canteloupe plants. They aren't ready yet, but I wish you guys were here to share some with me when they are. That would indeed be a blessed shabbat.

Anyway, I will keep it short. There was a post several months ago that was pertinent to this post, and I thought that I might link to it so that anyone who was interested could view it.

http://forum.yadayahweh....t.aspx?g=posts&t=600

YHWH Immakhem, YHWH be with you

Shalom

Understanding, discernment, and grace from our dad YAHUWEH,

So, I was going through eliyah.com, and I noticed he wrote an article where he beats the concept of the lunar sabbath soundly. So, if anyone is interested here is the link: Beware of the "Lunar Sabbath"

Your loving brother,
Mike Br.

Edited by user Sunday, August 24, 2008 6:11:26 PM(UTC)  | Reason: Not specified