Lunar Sabbath fellowship finder: Lunarsabbath.ca.
Whether you believe in Lunar Sabbath, or don't believe, you are welcome. Just follow the rules.
The group is for truth seekers with a practical bent. More particularly, we focus on understanding the original Hebrew calendar that was in use during the time the Pentateuch was written.
Our starting point is the Lunar Sabbath, which is a pattern of time that unites every Biblical unit of time, from the day, up to the 50 year Jubilee cycle.
The core concept of Lunar Sabbath is that every unit of time can be set by observing the lights in the heavens. This disconnects the observance of feast times from the vagaries of human history and chronology, and makes it timeless. Once it is timeless, it works into the past and into the future, no matter how human society changes. It has been said that God Himself is timeless. It makes sense that his calendar would be too.
Only post threads on topic. Don't post about your charity fund raiser, your childhood history, or prophetic timelines and interpretations. If those things tie in directly to the topic of Lunar Sabbath, they are welcome. It is your responsibility to show how they connect to the Lunar Sabbath.
There are non-Christians in the group. References to the New Testament are fine, but understand that some won't be convinced by them. This group is about Yah's Calendar in the Heavens. If you want to save someones soul for Christ, do it in private chat. This group isn't the forum for that.
Everyone has a different idea of how the Name of God is pronounced. That isn't up for debate here. Just use the name and title for Elohim that you are comfortable with, and leave others be.
This group welcomes speakers of all languages, but we are communicating in English. If you use foreign words, make sure that the English speakers can understand what you mean. Yes, it is cool to spell your unique transliteration of Hebrew words in your English conversation. But not on this forum.
Unless you can rain down fire from heaven, you are not the third coming of Elijah. Calling people names, telling them they are "from Satan"; such posts will be erased.
Use as many words as you need to make your point. And no more. Make one point per comment, so others have an easier time responding to them.
If you must write a detailed article, put it somewhere on the web then paste the link. If you need help with this, talk to an admin.
Your post should add something to the discussion. Posting a few words and expecting people to work to decipher them is arrogant. The number of words in your post doesn't matter. What matters is that everyone can understand you simply and clearly.
If you block another member because they are harassing you, tell the admins. You can stay in the group; the harasser will be removed.
If you block another member because you find their views irritating, I understand. But you still must leave the group. Everyone in the group must be able to see every post.
We try to keep the group safe and enjoyable for everyone. A group admin might contact you before adding you to the group. If they suspect your account is a fake or malicious account, you will be denied entry. If you ask entry to the group, you should send the group admins a friend request and reply to their followup messages in a timely way.
To find Lunar Sabbath fellowship in Canada, click HERE.
Mark Gilbert wrote the following for his Facebook group "Yah's Sabbath: An Unbiased Discussion". I like the way he has presented this and recommend that everyone read it. LINK: Facebook Group "Lunar Sabbath"
If you have studied or researched the topic "Lunar Sabbath" for any period of time, you have heard many arguments in support of both sides of the issue. At first glance, many of the arguments may sound plausible, both for and against. The unfortunate truth of the matter is, however, that most discussions follow a free-for-all format without any logical order or confrontation of the core issue, CALENDATION.
Few people have really researched the subject on their own. Instead, they rely upon the research of others, which for the most part consists solely of their own (or others) interpretations of scripture, which rely mostly on tradition, prejudice, or their own powers of reasoning, instead of an unbiased and collective approach to a sincere and fervent search for truth. Most so-called research is cursory at best, and dogmatic at worst.
The primary goal in creating this group was born out of an earnest hope and a genuine desire to engage in healthy and intelligent discussion, having a logical progression that begins with the fundamental and core issues, free of egos, personal criticism, or brow-beating (which is so prevalent on Facebook).
Logical progression dictates order, not disorder. A foundation must be built before the walls and roof are constructed on the house. So instead of engaging in comments about the siding, windows, paint color, or the interior furnishings of the house, we will begin with the fundamental core issues of calendation first, and progress to the more complex and periphery issues which require a foundation upon which they can only be understood.
This orderly method of discussion will hopefully provide a means of education for those who are new to the subject matter, by the contributions of many differing perspectives. My promise to you is to rid the discussion of fluff, irrelevance, bickering, and off-topic, or out-of-order comments that cause confusion and waste one's time, in their search for meaning on the subject.
All are invited to participate, however great or little your knowledge of the subject matter is. If you want to participate in the discussion, your comments will reflect your understanding of the purpose of this discussion, its Rules of Conduct and Order below, and your agreement to adhere to them.
Regardless of the amount of knowledge you have on the subject (or how little), patience will be required of you. Great teachers exude a great amount of patience. Avid students who retain the most and advance the quickest, also exhibit a great degree of patience. Patience is a virtue! It is expected of all of us engaged in discussion here.
Any comments that don't follow these Rules of Conduct and Order, *OR* fall outside the logical progression of the subject matter, however pertinent, will be deleted. It may be that your comment is pertinent, relevant, and poignant to the GENERAL top of Lunar Reckoning, but still unrelated to the point at which the discussion is in, during its progression (windows can't be installed until after the walls are up, and built securely upon the foundation).
Please feel free to invite friends who you believe can either make a valuable contribution to the discussion, or who can gain an educational benefit and blessing from it. Please use proper judgment in doing so. The benefit from individual perspectives, no matter how diverse, always benefits the whole, as long as we share a common goal together.
It is assumed that all who join as members, have a common goal to understand truth, without heaping coals of fire upon those who have a different perspective of it from the angle they are looking at it from.
With that said, we look forward to everyone's participation from their unique perspective, in hopes that all of us (the whole body) will gain value from each individual member. Please read the following Guidelines before submitting any comments within the discussion.
The whole concept of calendation concerns the calculation and division of TIME. Throughout history, there have been different types of calendars, primarily:
a) LUNAR: based solely on the counting of days within a month (lunation), where 12 months are equal to a year. An example of this type of calendar is the Muslim Calendar, which disregards the seasons or number of days in a solar year, causing each of the 12 months to occur within different seasons throughout each year (because of the asynchronous nature of months and years - one is not perfectly divisible by the other).
b) SOLAR: based solely on the division of months (unassociated with lunar phases), which are randomly divided by days, with the primary purpose of aligning with the solar year of 365.24 days. An example of this type of calendar is the Julian Calendar, which was revised by the Gregorian calendar in current use by the majority of the world today. It's primary consideration is to keep sync with the seasons, recognized in modern times by the 2 Equinoxes and 2 Solstices.
c) LUNI-SOLAR: based on a combination of both lunar and solar calendars, requiring leap days or leap months to sync the asynchronous measurements between 12 lunar months of 354.37 days and a solar year of 365.24219 days. This "syncing" requires an intercalary month as seen in the Babylonian, Metonic, and Hebrew calendars, or intercalary days as seen in the ancient Egyptian calendar.
d) 360 DAY CALENDAR: based on the Moses' description of the flood, where many interpret him to have described a 30 day month (Gen 8). Other scriptural and apocryphal books, such as Ezekiel, Daniel, Revelation, Enoch, Jubilees and others allude to a 30 day month. There are many theories (most of which have sprouted from the late astrophysicist, Immanuel Velikovsky's postulations in his book "Worlds in Collision") surrounding the possibility that the year consisted of 360 days prior to King Hezekiah (8th century BC), at which point their was a galactic cataclysm. However, since we know the year has consisted of 365.2422 days for at least the last 2,000+ years, and because no conclusive evidence supported by ancient documents attest to any such global cataclysm, nor any scriptural formula exists for handling such a change in measuring time, it is difficult, if not impossible to consider this calendar as a reasonable candidate for resolving any of the issues in this discussion.
(e) SACRED CALENDAR: The inclusion of this calendar here does not refer to the modern Jewish Calendar, which is based on a combination of the ancient Babylonian and Metonic calendars, devised by the last President of the Sanhedrin, Hillel II in 359AD, along with his addition of unscriptural postponement rules. Although the modern Jewish or Hebrew calendar is often referred to as the "Sacred Calendar", it is out of ignorance, tradition, or dogma, rather than an understanding of it's origin and lack of support in scripture. What I'm referring to as the "Sacred Calendar" here is the method of calendation intended by the Creator for his people, supported by scripture, and is at the very heart of this discussion. The question is, "What elements of the previous 4 methods of calendation (if any) can be found in the Creator's "Sacred Calendar", and can these methods of calendation be supported by scripture &/or extra-biblical evidence, free from dogma, religion, or bias?"
Time is measured in increments for the purpose of associating the occurrence or duration of events in the past, present, or future. It's measurement is reckoned in intervals and determined by different, often asynchronous units.
Today, in most cultures across the globe, units of time have been standardized with the Universal Clock (UT or UTC) in Greenwich, London, England (Greenwich Time/GMT). The Calendar used by the majority of countries around the world is based on the Gregorian Calendar of 1582, originally based upon the Julian Calendar of 45BC.
These two standardized measurements of time are made up of units we have all learned, sometimes even before entering grade school, and have used them all our lives to keep appointments, make agendas, determine something or someone's age, and know when important events occurred in history, and those we anticipate in the future. These measurements of time have been defined for us in the following 7 units:
Herein lies one of the biggest problems we face when attempting to discuss Calendation. We often try to fit ancient cultures and their methods of reckoning time into our 21st century, Gregorian mindset. The truth of the matter is that ancient cultures likely didn't measure seconds or minutes, and even hours were determined differently than our hour is measured today. The Book of Enoch, for instance, divides the day into 18 units instead of our 24 units.
When we get to the 4th measurement of time listed above (Days) we find an even greater number of discrepancies for measurement. While some cultures considered the beginning of their day at sunrise, others began measuring their calendrical day at sun set. Today, of course, most cultures begin their calendrical day at midnight.
And if that doesn't cause enough confusion, we find that the primary Hebrew word "YOWM" which has most often been translated into DAY is also used to define a Year, 40 Years, a Season (as in summer), an "age", a millennium, or a number of other *Measurements of Time* in scripture.
The same problem exists when attempting to equate our week, month, and year with ancient methods of measuring time. To conclude that our methods of measurement are the same methods used by a culture living 3,500 years before us, is pure conjecture, and in fact overly simplistic. To take it a step further, to assume that there weren't different measurements of time (other than the 7 mentioned above) would also be conjecture and oversight.
For instance, the Mayans had a measurement of time called a "Uinal", equivalent to 20 days, and a "Baktun", equivalent to 144,000 days (interesting number, isn't it).
The bottom line is if we're going to arrive at any truth, our bias, dogmas, and preconceived notions will need to be left outside the door, before entering this discussion. CONTEXT is king, when engaging in research and open discussion. More often than not, the measurement of time in ancient cultures cannot be equated to our 21st century Gregorian, or Greenwich equivalent.
Followers of YAH were called disciples, the root word from which discipline comes. Most people want to be followers but fail to discipline themselves, or be accountable to others. This is a fundamental precept of the early Nazarene Creed.
a) Be courteous & respectful to all participants. Any rude, placating, demeaning, sarcastic, slanderous, argumentative, or condescending statements, HOWEVER SUBTLE, will be deleted, regardless of how on-topic or relevant the rest of your comment may be. As members of the body of YAH, all participants will be held to the highest of standards in this regard (read Mt 7:12; Phil 2:3; I Cor 12 if you're unsure how to treat others). Participants making repeated offenses will be blocked from any further participation.
b) Stick to the ISSUES without LABELING ideas, opinions, or beliefs (such as "false", "lies", "deception", "idiotic", "ridiculous", etc). Leave out the personalities of participants, nonparticipants, or authors of articles you agree or disagree with.
c) Be crisp and clear while making your point. Not 2 or 3 or 4 points. Just ONE! Form complete, relevant sentences that make sense. Unintelligible or verbose comments that tend to create confusion rather than clarity will be remanded back to its author for revision of its indistinct, broad, or ambiguous nature. Proof read and insure your point is being made clear and concise before submitting.
d) Submit ONLY ONE COMMENT after another participant's comment. Multiple comments in succession will be deleted, UNLESS each comment responds to a different member's comment previous to it, in which case only two consecutive comments are suggested.
e) Keep comments to 400 words or less. Anything longer typically loses clarity and most reader's attention. Here is a free online tool for word counting: http://www.wordcounttool.com.
f) When challenging what you may regard as faulty logic or unsound reasoning, make sure it is done with utmost respect for the individual. If your logic or reasoning is challenged, don't interpret it to be an attack against you personally, if the challenge is directed solely at your method of reasoning, or the content of your comment.
g) Speak English! Do not use Greek or Hebrew words in your sentences without a clear interpretation of them. Assume that all participants have no knowledge of their meaning.
h) STAY ON TOPIC, and within the narrow confines of the issue being discussed at the point where the discussion is, when you enter it. I highly suggest that you read all previous comments before entering the discussion to avoid repetition, and to be able to contribute relevant information. A logical progression will be strictly upheld, beginning with the foundational issues of CALENDATION
i) The best arguments are supported by EVIDENCE, either scriptural or extra-biblical. "God spoke to me in a dream" is neither evidence or sound reasoning. Please don't use this as a basis for your argument. Evidence presented will be given weight according to its relevance, credibility, and importance to the subject matter being discussed at the point of progression in the discussion.
j) All Participants will be approved by an administrator. Approval by an admin will NOT be based on any previous encounters (even if your friends have been known to violate the above Rule (a) in other discussions on Facebook), unless they have been removed or banned previously from this group, which is hopefully a rare event. If you feel we would benefit from the participation of one or more of your friends please add them by use of the tool in the right hand column of the group page.
k) When asked a direct question from someone, please provide a clear and concise answer, without hedging or being evasive. If the question isn't clearly understood, please ask for clarification. Answering a question with a question can often times make a clear and valid point. However, more times than not, it can be misconstrued as evasive, arrogant, or cause the reader to feel as if the one making the retort doesn't know the answer. Unless you are absolutely certain that doing so makes a clear and convincing point, try to refrain from doing so.
l) Do not place links in your comments without prefacing them with how the reader will benefit from its content. Its value, relevance, and importance to the specific subject matter being discussed at the point of progression will be weighed in regard to Rule (h). Please be judicial in this matter. Any comments with links to articles that are only remotely pertinent to the subject matter at hand will be deleted.
m) Understand the difference between assumptions and facts. Assumptions are assertions without substantive evidence, which is what opinions are based on. Facts are accompanied by proof (whether scriptural or extra-biblical writings or archeological evidence, regardless of their correct or incorrect interpretation). It's OK to theorize or attempt to make interpretations (as long as they aren't absurd). However, be prepared for your theories and interpretations to be challenged. All evidence is not in scripture. And scriptures do not contain the whole extent of evidence. Because the Equinoxes or Solstices aren't necessarily mentioned in scripture, doesn't mean they aren't EVIDENCED in nature by simply looking up in the sky.
n) There are differing opinions on what "scriptures" constitute. Some believe that the Tenakh (commonly referred to as the "Old Testament", which includes the Law [Torah], Prophets, and Writings) are the only scriptures, since that is what the "New Testament" writers referred to when they spoke of them. Others include what is commonly referred to as the "New Testament" (or B'rit Chadashah [New Covenant], containing the Gospels, Letters, and Revelation). Still others include Enoch, Jubilees, Jasher, and other apocryphal books (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biblical_apocrypha). Latitude will be given to all definitions of "scriptures". However, in light of the fact that a number of them have been found either discrepant within themselves or with other writings, weight to their use as evidence will be given in the following order: Tenakh (Old Testament), B'rit Chadashah (New Testament), Apocrypha.
o) Members of the group don't need to be friends. However, it is absolutely necessary that no member have another member blocked. Facebook's blocking feature causes all comments of another member to be invisible to them. This disrupts discussion flow, and causes it to be disjointed for any member blocked by another member engaged in the discussion. If it is found that one member has blocked another member, the block is required to be lifted (bring this to the attention of an admin via a private message). Otherwise, the offending party will be removed from the group. Followers of YAH are accountable for their offenses. If you have offended, or another has offended you, the process for resolve is clearly described in Mt 18:15-17.