Ok. I was hoping you would have lined the dots on your own. It is difficult to find information on this subject, as almost all information on this subject is associated with a sect of some type which is looking for converts and trying to peddle a religious denomination. I will see if I can help…
There are disputes today whether or not 1. we should still keep the Sabbath, and 2. whether or not the Sabbath is on Saturday or Sunday (or some other day). To the first question I say the answer is NO; we do not need to keep the Sabbath today. My answer for this comes from an analysis of the early church fathers regarding Sabbath keeping, and it was completely absent in the early church. I value their perspective, for this custom would have continued in some way if the Apostles had taught it. The second question…, what day was the Sabbath?, is linked to the first question. We do not need to follow the Sabbath today because we cannot! We cannot because we do not follow the lunar calendar. The Sabbath day is intrinsically attached to the observance of the lunar calendar. If we followed a lunar calendar it would be possible, but God had ordained that the observances of the Jews be abandoned to make way for the gentile inclusion within the church.
Firstly, the command to follow the Sabbath:
Exodus 20:8 says this: “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.”
Here the Sabbath was determined on a count of days (“the seventh day”), not a fixed day (as in Saturday). Counting seven days from when? This was based on the lunar calendar. On a solar calendar we count seven days in a loop that goes on irrespective of the month or year. The OT Jews did not do this. The Jewish year began with the first sliver of the New Moon following the March equinox. I am sure you would agree that the New Moon following the March equinox does not fall on the same day each year. It was from this day of the New Moon following the vernal equinox that the Passover was determined, and all other Holy days were also counted:
Leviticus 23:1-8
"The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, These are the appointed feasts of the Lord that you shall proclaim as holy convocations; they are my appointed feasts. “Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation. You shall do no work. It is a Sabbath to the Lord in all your dwelling places. “These are the appointed feasts of the Lord, the holy convocations, which you shall proclaim at the time appointed for them. In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at twilight, is the Lord’s Passover. And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the Feast of Unleavened Bread to the Lord; for seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. On the first day you shall have a holy convocation; you shall not do any ordinary work. But you shall present a food offering to the Lord for seven days. On the seventh day is a holy convocation; you shall not do any ordinary work.”
All of these Holy days, including the Sabbath, were counted from the first month (Abib/Nissan), which was the month that the Israelites left Egypt:
Exodus 23:15
“Observe the Festival of Unleavened Bread. As I commanded you, you are to eat unleavened bread for seven days at the appointed time in the month of Abib, because you came out of Egypt in that month.”
There is sometimes a dispute over whether the first month was determined on the New Moon after the vernal equinox or before, as the *Westminster Dictionary of the Bible *confirms:
“"The year began with the month of Abib or Nisan (Exodus 12:2, 23:15, Esther 3:7) with the new moon next before or next after the vernal equinox.”
Either way, the facts remain that the New Year was based on the New Moon surrounding the vernal equinox. At this New Moon the counting began. Just as the New Moon does not always fall on a Saturday, neither does the Sabbath always fall on a Saturday. It is impossible. This myth began when the Jews created their solar-lunar calendar in the 4th century AD (Hillel II). Christians, by this time, were disinterested in what the Jews were doing, and the practice of Sabbath observance was finished at the resurrection. It only had relevance to the Passover, which continued to be observed by many churches until Rome had ruled in favor of a solar fixed day observance. Polycarp, the disciple of the Apostle John, still observed the correct day for the passover and resurrection based on the lunar calendar; whereas Anicetus, bishop of Rome, had preferred to abandon the lunar calendar completely. This has become the custom till this day.
It makes little difference to me what you believe. I don’t think it is an integral teaching of scripture one way or the other… I just think that accuracy is preferred to error. That is my only interest here. (see also scripturalsabbath.com/sabbath_calculation.html for a diagram showing how the counting was achieved.
Steve