The Dead Sea Scrolls Proves Lunar Sabbaths.
The
Dead Sea Scrolls are considered by scholars to be authored by the Essenes, a sect in first century Judaism. In the Dead Sea
Scrolls, there are a number of extra-biblical scrolls which appear to shed light on what this sect believed and practiced.
Understanding what they believed can be helpful in determining whether or not the Lunar Sabbath was being observed by mainstream
Judaism of that time.
Lunar Sabbatarians believe that the authors of these scrolls keep a Lunar Sabbath
BECAUSE these AUTHORS would say things like the new moon will fall on this date or that date of a particular month, even saying
things like the new moon falls on the 25th etc. this is conclusive evidence that they had to have had a solar only
calendar in front of them and were showing where the New Moon would hit on the Solar calendar because the true new moon can
never be on the 25th but is is always on the first day of every month, so they were obviously showing where the new moon would
fall on the solar only calendar and that because the new moon was not a part of the solar only calendar. The same is true
with the full moon and the true weekly Sabbaths, they also would show where they would fall on Julius
Caesar’s calendar because they also were not a part of it eather, as the following will show. Anyone who cannot accept
the fact that there were TWO calendars, the Creation Calendar, and Julis Caear's Calendar, is in a state of
denial. And if you can accept that fact, the evidence shows that "if" they were observing the traditional
seventh day Sabbaths there would be no need to mention where the seventh day Sabbaths fall because on the traditional every
seven-day Sabbath calendar, the Sabbath will be on every seventh day, but if the Sabbaths and new moon days were by the
moon, then naturally they would have to show what date they fell on the solar only calendar. This is an absolute.
Below is still more evidence that the Dead Sea Scrolls support the Lunar Sabbaths. Again, as I said, the scribes are showing
where the true Sabbaths and new moons falls on the solar only calendar. If the true weekly Sabbath was a repetition seven-day
pattern, the scribes would not have to tell you where the Sabbaths fall, because they would already be every seventh day.
Same thing with the true new moon/month, if it were a part of that calendar, they would not have to tell you where it falls
. We do the same thing today, we lay our solar only calendar out and circle the days on which the true new moons falls, true
feast days, and the true creation Sabbaths Falls. If the new moons and Sabbaths were a part of that calendar, it would be
no need to have to say they fall here or there. We have to do this because the creation calendar, with its new moons and Sabbaths
is not a part of Caesars calendar, therefore we have to show where the full moon, new moon, feast days, and Sabbaths days
fall, throughout the solar year. The scribes were in a transitional period from solar lunar calendar to a strictly solar only
calendar and today we are in a transitional period back the other way. The Dead Sea Scrolls are very choppy to say the least,
and hard to read, sometimes even guessing at what it is saying and what should go where, but the very fact that they are telling
you where the Sabbath and new moons etc. falls, proves that the true Sabbaths and new moons were not a part of the solar only
calendar that was in front of them and therefore it is conclusive proof that they were keeping lunar months and lunar weeks
with a lunar Sabbath at the end of the lunar week.
Noticed the language that is used when showing where the
Sabbath and new moons etc. falls.
4Qcalendrical Document (4Q327)
Frag. 1 col. I
3 The sixteenth
4falls on a Sabbath. 5 the twenty-third falls on the a Sabbath. The thirtieth
Frag. 1 col. II 1 falls on a Sabbath.
2 On the twenty-3second 4 falls on the feast of oil. 6 Af[ter the Sabbath 7 […] 8 the offering of(Note: the
feast of oil which fell on the 22nd, would not be by the Roman calendar.)
Frag. 2 col. I the twenty-5third 6
falls on a Sabbath. 5 The thirtieth 8 falls on a Sabbath.
Frag. 2 col. II 2falls on a Sabbath. 3 On the twenty-4eight
5 a Sabbath falls 6 on it. After 7 the Sabbath 8 the [fe]stival of the […]
Frag 2 col. III 1falls [on
a Sabbath.] 2 The eleven[th] 3 on a Sabbath. 4 The eight5eenth falls on a Sabbath. 6 The twenty-7fifth 8 falls only Sabbath.
4 The second 10 of the month
It is obvious that there are two calendars being compared and the authors are marking
which days of the solar only calendar falls on the Sabbath, in order to plan their schedules. We go through the whole year’s
calendar month by month circling which days falls on the creation Sabbath throughout the whole year so we can plan out our
Roman commercial work weeks and not profane the true creation Sabbaths and new moons when they come around. You would not
need to say the 16th falls on a Sabbath if the 16th was a Sabbath on the Roman calendar because it is every seventh day regardless.
The Sabbath that the 16 falls on was obviously a lunar Sabbath by the moon and was not a part of the solar only calendar and
that is why they tell where it falls. They also used the exact same method with the new moons because they do not belong on
that calendar either. If they had said the 16th falls on a new moon instead of a Sabbath, what would you think they were talking
about? (meditate on that awhile) I would think that the 16th of the solar only calendar falls on the true new moon day which
is not a part of that calendar, just like the creation Sabbath is not a part of that Roman calendar either.
When we
were planning a vacation or perhaps we get a speeding ticket and have to go to court on the 20th and my wife says the 20th
fall’s on a Sabbaths, that don’t mean that the 20th is on the traditional Saturday that comes every seventh day
on that calendar because we are lunar Sabbath observers and were speaking of the Sabbath that is not part of the traditional
world calendar that the court uses.
When we read in the Dead Sea Scrolls how that the writers were making calendars
showing how that certain days of the lunar month such as the full moon or new moon will fall on the 25th etc, we know from
deductive reasoning that there are two calendars in view because the full moon or new moon cannot fall on the 25th of the
month.
I could see how someone might sit down in front of a Roman calendar and say that the New moon will fall here
or their BECAUSE the New moon is OUTSIDE of that calendar and is not a part of it and therefore one might say the New moon
will fall on this date or that date, or they might say this date or that date falls on the new moon because it is not part
of that calendar, but I CANNOT see how someone would sit down in front of the traditional calendar and say the Sabbath falls
on this day or that day UNLESS it to IS NOT a part of that calendar. They would be no need to say the Saturday/Sabbath fall
here or there because every SEVENTH day is a Saturday/Sabbath, UNLESS, like I said these Sabbaths and new moons that they
were speaking of, were OUTSIDE the Roman calendar, same as the full moon, and other feast days and it had to be made known
where they would fall, it makes no sense any other way. I.e. The New moon will fall on this date of the month and why say
the 16 falls on the Sabbath if the 16th is a Sabbath???? The New Moon is always on the first day of the month, you do not
have to say it is going to fall here or there if it were a part of that calendar and the same logic applies to the weekly
Sabbath, which falls on the quarters of the moon.
If the calendar they were sitting before was a 1 through 7 Solar
ONLY calendar, which seems to be the case here, why say anything concerning where the Sabbath Falls? Why even talk about it?
Wouldn’t It be common knowledge that it fell every seventh day? Surely everyone can understands why they would say the
true New moon falls here or there, because it was not a part of that calendar that they were sitting before and when they
said the Sabbath falls here or there, is because it was not part of that calendar ether.
We also see in the Dead Sea
Scrolls where they were showing where other feast days fell on the solar only calendar, such as Tabernacles, Day of Atonement,
Passover, Wave Sheaf, etc. fell on days not consistent with scripture and we know all of these are by the Moon also, same
as the weekly Sabbath and New Moon and had to be shown where they fall.
The Sabbaths were by the phases of the Moon
same as the New moon and the other Holy Feast days were, and not common knowledge therefore they could intelligently say the
New moon or Sabbath Falls here or their but it would not make sense to say anything at all unless the Sabbath that they would
speaking of did not normally belong on that solar only calendar, same as the New moon and the other feast days does not belong
on it. It seems evident that they were sitting before the Roman calendar and pinpointing when the TRUE New moons and the LUNAR
seventh day Sabbath Falls.
No one would sit down with the Roman calendar and plan out their Sabbaths and new moons
throughout the year, saying, the Sabbaths fall here or their unless the Sabbath does not normally belong their.
It
would make PERFECT sense to EXPLAIN that the New moon falls on such and such a date of the Roman calendar but it would not
make ANY sense to explain where the weekly Sabbaths falls on the Roman calendar if they are already a part of the Roman calendar
EVERY SEVEN DAYS. This alone proves that the Sabbath and New moon/month that they referred to as falling on certain days is
referring to the Creation Sabbath and New moon appointments spoken of in Genesis 1:14.the
Examples, In scroll
4Q320 fragment 4 col. V1 says the Day of Atonement falls on the 6th, and the feast of tents on the 4th, Passover on the 3rd,
waving of the sheaf on the 1st, second Passover on the 3rd, day of remembrance on the 4th, and so on. We know that these dates
are not consistent with Scripture and the only explanation is that these were dates on the creation calendar and the calendar
makers were showing where these day would fall on the man-made solar only calendar, possibly for commercial reasons.
I
can show in the scrolls, if anyone is interested, where the full moon falls on days like the 25th and new moon the same way
and we all know there can neither be a new moon or full moon on the 25th etc, no more than the Day of Atonement on the sixth.
These men were in a transitional period, much like today, people will ask us when the Sabbaths and new moon are going fall
this month etc. because the true Sabbaths and true new moons are not a part of these traditional Roman calendars.
Even many of the traditional Roman calendars of today show where the New moons and its 4 quarterly weekly phases will fall
throughout the months of the year which the ancient calendar makers called Sabbaths, before the destruction of the Temple.
We find in the Dead Sea Scrolls where this was being done, see above. Hardly anyone would ever wonders why the New moon and
its seven-day phases appears on the calendar, after all WHO CARES? They mean nothing to us today, but should they? Why does
the world care? Could it be that we still have the same type calendars today and they still show us where the new moon worship
day falls and where the quarter worship days fall, but no one knows what they are for today our pays them no attention but
when it was fresh the Jewish people would know what days their weekly Sabbaths and new moon fell on for commercial reasons
etc.
After the destruction of the Temple and the religious Jewish people scattered, and the Roman solar only calendar
had phased its way in, which no longer used the moon for months as proven by any good encyclopedia under calendar. The New
commercial calendar just counted one through seven, over and over again and when they came to the new Moon worship day, they
also counted it as an ordinary workday and continued the one through seven count and that’s what we have today because
they’ve done away with the new moon day marker. People do not recognize the New moons and Creation Sabbaths/quarter
moons that overlay on to the Roman calendar, should be kept, because of the traditions of men. The same type transitional
calendars that these men worked on are still before us today but we don’t understand them because of the traditions
of men.
Over time men realized that the moon affected many things including agricultural and assumed that this is why
the ancient calendar makers were place their, showing where the New moons and Sabbaths fell but we believe it was originally
for religious purposes because they also showed where the other Holy Feasts days fell on the calendar also. Those moon phases
are still there on the calendar today but are not used for religious appointments as they were during the time of the Dead
Sea Scrolls and as Genesis 1:14 where it teaches to let them be for appointments, was intended.
The ESSENES
The
scroll shows that they were NOT observing a recurring seven day weekly cycle, independent of the moon phases.
In the
book of Philo and Josephus, speaks much about the Essenes. Josephus was a first century Jewish historian who wrote much about
life in Judea during the first century. He goes into great detail as to how practices of the Essenes were different than others.
He mentions everything from how the Essenes don't carry anything with them when they travel, to how they regard oil to be
defilement. In Wars of the Jews 2:119-161, Josephus speaks of them in no less than 2000 words, describing over 100
characteristics of their way of life.
So did Josephus mention that they kept the Sabbath on a day that was different
than the rest of Judaism?
Wars of the Jews 2:147 ... "Moreover, they are stricter than
any other of the Jews in resting from their labors on the seventh day; for they not only get their food ready the day before,
that they may not be obliged to kindle a fire on that day, but they will not move any vessel out of its place, nor go to stool
thereon."
