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Month 3
The last month in the TMR article deals
with the arrival of the Israelites at
Mount Sinai. This month is presented as
the conclusive argument for the lunar
Sabbaths theory. Let us examine the
evidence to determine what is factual
and what is assumed. It is really
not that hard.
TMR:
“2. Evidently, it was significant to
Yahweh to have Moses record this event
as being the exact same day on the
third month since they had left
Egypt. Since it was important to Yahweh,
it most likely did not happen by chance,
but rather was a planned arrival.
Because it is stated to be the exact
same day, then by default it must be the
15th day of the month,
counting from the New Moon. If it can be
established which day of the week the 15th
fell on, then it is possible to connect
all the other dates of that month with
the proper days of the week.” p.23
Comment:
This is an honest and correct
admission1.
The arrival day at Sinai occurred
exactly three months after the day of
the exodus. The day of the exodus and
arrival are identical in that
travel occurred on them. We saw earlier
that the Israelites left Egypt on the 15th
very early in the morning and “before
the morning broke, they were on their
way”. This immediately disproves
the idea that the 15th of the
first month was a Sabbath rest
day. In exactly the same manner the
Israelites arrived at Sinai on the 15th
day (making it a travel day, not a
rest day).
TMR:
“3. Unfortunately, there is no statement
in the entire book of Exodus that states
on which day of the week the 15th falls.
It should not be assumed that this third
month in a row is identical to the
preceding two months simply on the basis
that it is mentioned. To be conclusive,
the third month, like the two before it,
must be established by its own inherent
attributes as given in the Biblical
narrative.” p.23
Comment:
While the account does not tell
us what day of the week the 15th
was it does reveal what day it
was not. The 15th
could not be a seventh-day
Sabbath rest. It was a travel
day, and that immediately makes it a
common working day and not a Sabbath.
The above illustration places the
arrival of the Israelites to Sinai at
night (to maintain the 15th
day as a Sabbath rest day2).
But let us examine some more evidence
just to be sure.
“From Rephidim the people continued
their journey, following the
movement of the cloudy pillar. Their
route had led across barren plains,
over steep ascents, and through
rocky defiles. Often as they had
traversed the sandy wastes, they had
seen before them rugged mountains,
like huge bulwarks, piled up
directly across their course, and
seeming to forbid all further
progress. But as they approached,
openings here and there appeared in
the mountain wall, and beyond,
another plain opened to view.
Through one of the deep, gravelly
passes they were now led. It was a
grand and impressive scene. Between
the rocky cliffs rising hundreds of
feet on either side, flowed in a
living tide, far as the eye could
reach, the hosts of Israel with
their flocks and herds. And now
before them in solemn majesty Mount
Sinai lifted its massive front. The
cloudy pillar rested upon its summit,
and the people spread their tents
upon the plain beneath. Here was to
be their home for nearly a year.
At night the pillar of fire assured
them of the divine protection, and
while they were locked in slumber,
the bread of heaven fell gently upon
the encampment.” {PP
301.2}
This majestic narrative of the arrival
of the Israelites to Sinai is both
wonderful and informative. It is plainly
seen that the Israelites arrived at
Sinai led by the cloudy pillar3
(i.e. during the daylight hours, not
night). This only confirms the truth
that the 15th day4
was a travel day (not a Sabbath).
They pitched camp and were settled
before night fell. Weary from their
travel they slept that night. Is there
need for any further evidence?
The 15th daytime arrival on
the diagram should look like this:
TMR:
“Begin counting on the 16th day of the
first month of Abib, which is the day
after the Sabbath. Count seven
“Sabbaths complete”, and then add a
day, because the text says to
“count off fifty days to the day after
the seventh Sabbath”.” p.24
Comment:
“That
שַׁבָּתֹות
(Lev 23:15) signifies weeks, like
שָׁבֻעֹות
in Deu 16:9, and τὰ
σάββατα
in the Gospels (e.g., Mat 28:1), is
evident from the predicate
תְּמִימֹת,
“complete,” which would be quite
unsuitable if Sabbath-days were
intended, as a long period might be
reckoned by half weeks instead of
whole, but certainly not by half
Sabbath-days. Consequently “the
morrow after the seventh Sabbath”
(Lev 23:16) is the day after the
seventh week, not after the seventh
Sabbath.” Keil & Delitzsch
Commentary on the Old Testament
(comment on Lev 23:15-17)
TMR:
“7. Pentecost falls on Sivan 9 each and
every year. Because the Creator’s
Calendar is a fixed calendar, the
9th day of Sivan will always be on the
first day of the week, thus making the
15th day of the same month a seventh-day
Sabbath.” p.25
Comment:
This claim is completely unfounded and
cannot be proved. Pentecost, the Feast
of Weeks (or Shavuot), is always 50 days
from the 16th of the first
month, no more and no less6.
The proposed date of 9 Sivan is 53
days from the 16th of the
first month (go ahead and count it for
yourself below). This is in direct
violation of the 50 day count and the
entire argument to prove it is nothing
but a collection of self contradictory
assumptions.
This only confirms the error of
attempting to make the 15th
into a seventh day Sabbath. We saw
clearly that it was not a rest
day but a travel day.Based on this information we can
accurately illustrate which days were
not Sabbath days.
Much point is made over the fact that
God gave certain dates in those three
months. The conclusion that this proves
they were Sabbaths is not in harmony
with the facts. The reason why the date
is given is to record significant events
in the travels of the Hebrews:
·
The children of Israel departed from
Egypt on the fifteenth day of the
first month (Numbers 33:3).
·
They came to the wilderness of Sin
on the fifteenth day of the second
month (Exodus 16:1).
·
They came to the desert of Sinai on
the fifteenth day of the third month
(Exodus 19:1).
The TMR article seeks by a variety of
ingenious assumptions to prove that the
15th was a Sabbath, but the
evidence says otherwise.
For three months in a row God is showing
us that the 15th was nothing
more than a common working day (a travel
day). This proves conclusively that it
was not a seventh-day Sabbath.
This evidence is based on the facts of
inspiration not on assumptions
and conjectures. Thus, from the very
article attempting to prove the lunar
Sabbaths theory we are furnished with
evidence disproving the theory!
For three months in a row God
demonstrated that the 8th, 15th,
22nd, and 29th (12
examples) were not
Sabbath rest days! It probably does not
get more ironic than this.
We searched the Scriptures and have
found that these things are not
so. We appeal to all those who can use
sound reasoning to ponder well the
decisions they make. The theory of the
lunar Sabbaths has been shown to be
nothing more than a collection of
assumptions and false premises7.
Will you abandon it and accept the true
Sabbath8?
Or will you ignore the evidence and
choose the assumptions? The choice, and
the responsibility, is yours. The
trumpet has been sounded.
1Exodus
19:1, 2 “In the third month,
when the children of Israel were
gone forth out of the land of
Egypt, the same day came they
into the wilderness of Sinai.
For they were departed from
Rephidim, and were come to the
desert of Sinai, and had pitched
in the wilderness; and there
Israel camped before the mount.”
Now all depends upon the meaning
we give to the expression, “the
same day.” What else can it mean
but the same day of the month in
which they came out of Egypt,
and the same day of the month in
which they came into the
wilderness of Sin (Exodus 16:1)?
If this is its meaning then it
was on the 15th
day of the third month that they
came into the wilderness of
Sinai.
5“The
Pentecost was a feast celebrated
seven weeks after the
Passover.” {3SP 265.1}
“Fifty days from the
offering of first fruits,
came the Pentecost, called also
the feast of harvest and the
feast of weeks.” {PP 540.1}
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