Official: Biblical Research Institute on "Lunar Sabbath" Belief
Hello!
Within the last few days, a few posts have referred to a new position statement taken by the Biblical Research Institute regarding the lunar Sabbath teaching.
Just this last weekend, a friend of mine attended Garden Road SDA Church in Calgary, Canada, where Pastor Ishmael Ali said he just came back from a ministerial meeting and that we have an official position that the BRI has made on the heresy of the lunar Sabbath calendar that he could present and he would do so next week. Pastor Bob also posted, "I was at pastors' meetings just this week in which Gerhard Pfandl addressed this theory and presented the evidence as to why it is not Biblically tenable and why the Biblical Research Institute has rejected it." He has graciously promised to post the full critique when he gets it. (Pastor Bob - are you in the same conference in Canada?)
I have wished for some time to hear an official stance on the lunar Sabbath from the BRI and was happy to hear what Pastor Ali and Pastor Bob had to say. In my eagerness to obtain the information, I just now called the BRI and spoke to a lovely lady by the name of Brenda Flemmer. I asked if I could receive this information and she said, "No, there is no official church stance. There are GUIDLINES, but nothing has ever been voted on. I do not know if they will vote on it - I have not heard of anything along those lines."
While this was very disappointing to me, I would like to offer a gentle word of caution to everyone involved in the disucssion of so vital a topic as the holy Sabbath: We are not the Roman Catholic Church and the Biblical Research Institute is NOT the "Holy Office for the Defense of the Faith" (aka, the Inquisition.) Angel Rodriguez is not the Grand Inquisitor whose decrees should be taken as the Word of God Almighty. As we all must answer for ourselves at the judgment bar of God, there certainly is room to allow each other religious liberty in our beliefs. Some of the name calling that has occured, "lunies", etc. does not honor the belief which the one doing the name-calling claims to espouse.
Whether you are for or against the lunar Sabbath belief, let us all allow each other sufficient liberty of consciense to study for ourselves what we believe. The findings of the BRI should be taken under consideration in the context of one's OWN study - not as the final end-all-be-all of the discussion, for that would make us no different from the Ropman Catholics who do not feel the need to study for themselves as they just have to believe what the Grand Inquisttor has studied out FOR them.
I, personally, would like to see an official position taken on the lunar Sabath. If any of you agree, I would encourage you to call the BRI and request it. Of course, this can only be done by the GC in session under vote, but there would certainly be opportunity for that iat this next session this year. The phone number of the BRI is 301-680-6790.
In the loving and gracious spirit of Christ, Brothers and Sisters, let us study for ourselves.
God bless!
Within the last few days, a few posts have referred to a new position statement taken by the Biblical Research Institute regarding the lunar Sabbath teaching.
Just this last weekend, a friend of mine attended Garden Road SDA Church in Calgary, Canada, where Pastor Ishmael Ali said he just came back from a ministerial meeting and that we have an official position that the BRI has made on the heresy of the lunar Sabbath calendar that he could present and he would do so next week. Pastor Bob also posted, "I was at pastors' meetings just this week in which Gerhard Pfandl addressed this theory and presented the evidence as to why it is not Biblically tenable and why the Biblical Research Institute has rejected it." He has graciously promised to post the full critique when he gets it. (Pastor Bob - are you in the same conference in Canada?)
I have wished for some time to hear an official stance on the lunar Sabbath from the BRI and was happy to hear what Pastor Ali and Pastor Bob had to say. In my eagerness to obtain the information, I just now called the BRI and spoke to a lovely lady by the name of Brenda Flemmer. I asked if I could receive this information and she said, "No, there is no official church stance. There are GUIDLINES, but nothing has ever been voted on. I do not know if they will vote on it - I have not heard of anything along those lines."
While this was very disappointing to me, I would like to offer a gentle word of caution to everyone involved in the disucssion of so vital a topic as the holy Sabbath: We are not the Roman Catholic Church and the Biblical Research Institute is NOT the "Holy Office for the Defense of the Faith" (aka, the Inquisition.) Angel Rodriguez is not the Grand Inquisitor whose decrees should be taken as the Word of God Almighty. As we all must answer for ourselves at the judgment bar of God, there certainly is room to allow each other religious liberty in our beliefs. Some of the name calling that has occured, "lunies", etc. does not honor the belief which the one doing the name-calling claims to espouse.
Whether you are for or against the lunar Sabbath belief, let us all allow each other sufficient liberty of consciense to study for ourselves what we believe. The findings of the BRI should be taken under consideration in the context of one's OWN study - not as the final end-all-be-all of the discussion, for that would make us no different from the Ropman Catholics who do not feel the need to study for themselves as they just have to believe what the Grand Inquisttor has studied out FOR them.
I, personally, would like to see an official position taken on the lunar Sabath. If any of you agree, I would encourage you to call the BRI and request it. Of course, this can only be done by the GC in session under vote, but there would certainly be opportunity for that iat this next session this year. The phone number of the BRI is 301-680-6790.
In the loving and gracious spirit of Christ, Brothers and Sisters, let us study for ourselves.
God bless!
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Michelle Alvarez on
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I believe that studying truth is what is important and not studying error.
Amen, MsMS... studying the lunar sabbath error as this post suggests is a complete waste of time.... I do hope that we study the Message God gave for our time. Blessings to all
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Thank you, MsMS... so true... I do believe all have been warned- it's up to everyone to make their decision- We often try to take the place of the Holy Spirit, but we can't. Only He can convict. Sadly, the proponents of this theory (at least one of them has voiced) don't believe in the Holy Spirit so they cannot be convicted. Let this be a warning also to all who want to delve into this, including you, Mr. Jones.
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Permalink Reply by jxrxc on
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The following has been submitted to the WolrdsLastChance $1,000,000 fraudster contest with no reply...
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God created in six days, rested the seventh.
The moon and sun were created on the 4th day (Genesis 1:16-19), while the Sabbath was three days later.
Originally in the Garden there was no sin. There was no recorded lunar calendar until the law of Moses and the ordinances.
God later establishes the lunar calendar with the new moon feast days of the ordinances. The ordinances and moon calendar were nailed to the cross (Col.2:14-17; Gal.4:9-10).
www.colossians-2-16.info
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Also interesting that the WorldsLastChance website promotes the sacred name, and that Jesus is a Roman construct of Zeus error.
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Permalink Reply by McCoy on
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If WLC would accept the writing of Ellen White in this contest, then it would be a wonderful experience. Only the Bible is allowed.
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Permalink Reply by Tyrone Keels on
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Hi William.
Lunar Sabbath vs. Spirit of Prophecy - The World's Last Chance cannot allow the Spirit of prophecy to be used because not only are they not 7th Day Adventists but they refuse light which contradicts their opinion. 7th Day Adventists keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ which keeps them from the various delusions and deceptions of the last days when the light is heeded and obeyed.
7th Day Adventist accept all of the testimony of Jesus - whether in the Bible or the writings of Ellen G. White. It is our love for Christ and the proof of that love as shown by our acceptance and practice of the truth that distinguishes God's people from all other fellowships.
The lunar sabbath theory is shown to be in error by the Spirit of prophecy. If it is shown to be in error by the Spirit of prophecy, then that means that it is shown to be in error by the Bible too (even if human minds are not skillful enough to prove it) because the Spirit of prophecy only amplifies what is spoken in the word of God.
Take a look at these words from the Spirit of prophecy which make clear which day is the preparation day and which day is the Sabbath.
The Saviour was buried on Friday, the sixth day of the week. {SJ 157.3}
All needful preparation for the Sabbath should be made on Friday. {RH, May 8, 1883 par. 10}
Friday is the day on which we are to prepare for the Sabbath. {4MR 104.3}
Friday is the day of preparation. It should be devoted to thinking and doing and conversing upon things necessary, preparatory to the Sabbath, that nothing should be left unsaid or undone to be said and done upon the Sabbath which will in the sight of heaven be regarded as a violation of the sacredness of the Sabbath. When the Lord said, "Tomorrow is the rest of the holy Sabbath: bake that which ye will bake today, and seethe that ye will seethe," he meant that Friday should be our preparation day, in which we are to do all our cooking. The Sabbath is not to be a day when titbits shall be prepared or cooked. If it is really essential to have beans on the Sabbath, let them be cooked on Friday, and kept warm in the oven. They need not be eaten cold unless preferred. But let no remarks be made as though it were a very light thing whether or not we regard the special requirements of God in regard to the Sabbath. It is not left for any man or woman to venture to disregard one requirement of God. {RH, June 8, 1897 par. 3}
While preparation for the Sabbath is to be made all through the week, Friday is to be the special preparation day. Through Moses the Lord said to the children of Israel: "Tomorrow is the rest of the holy Sabbath unto the Lord: bake that which ye will bake today, and seethe that ye will seethe; and that which remaineth over lay up for you to be kept until the morning." "And the people went about, and gathered it [the manna], and ground it in mills, or beat it in a mortar, and baked it in pans, and made cakes of it." Exodus 16:23; Numbers 11:8. There was something to be done in preparing the heaven-sent bread for the children of Israel. The Lord told them that this work must be done on Friday, the preparation day. This was a test to them. God desired to see whether or not they would keep the Sabbath holy. {6T 354.4,355}
God has not left the matter so undefined that we can not tell when the true Sabbath comes. "Six days," he says, "may work be done; but in the seventh is the Sabbath of rest, holy to the Lord." He has given directions that on Friday, the day prior to the Sabbath, shall be prepared all the food to be eaten on the Sabbath. {RH, September 6, 1898 par. 8}
When God created the earth and placed man upon it, he divided time into seven periods. Six he gave to man for his own use, to employ in secular business; one he reserved for himself. Having rested on the seventh day, he blessed and sanctified it. Henceforth, the seventh day was to be regarded as the Lord's rest-day, and to be sacredly observed as the memorial of his creative work. It was not the first, second, third, fourth, fifth, or sixth day that was sanctified, or set apart to a holy use, neither was it a seventh part of time and no day in particular; but it was the seventh day, the day upon which God had rested. We are every day to think of God and live as in his sight; but when the six day's work is done, we are to "remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy,"--to cease from labor and devote the day exclusively to meditation and worship. {ST, February 28, 1884 par. 1}
Thank you for allowing my reply
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Permalink Reply by odette boily on
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Dear Amish,
There is sure evidence the flood chronicle in Genesis 7 and 8 is based on the luni-solar calendar.
There is a problem with a moon created on the 4th days since the 2 lights are mentioned on verse 14 in Genesis 1, how do you account for the sun being created on the 4th day and still calculate the day from sunset to sunset till the 4th day? Unless you want to say like the others, the moon was created on the 4th day but not the sun -- both were created on the first day but appointed for signs, seasons, on the 4th day.
How do account for Psalm 81:1-5 that makes it clear Joseph, therefore Jacob, therefore Abraham kept the feasts... Was not Joseph some centuries before Moses?
Wrong premise, wrong conclusion!
You may want to check my premises and conclusion on u-tube: Calendar Counterfeit Unmasked Grace Amadon Collection. I have prepared 10 power point videos on the sanctuary, the calendar and the Grace Amadon Collection obtained at Andrews University.
Another question: Do you believe the calendar of the sanctuary was established at the time of the sanctuary in the wilderness Ex. 35-40?
One problem if you say yes, the sanctuary in the wilderness was after the pattern of the heavenly sanctuary.
And we know the heavenly sanctuary exists before the foundation of the world. So, how can the sanctuary calendar only start with Moses, including the festivals and the 7th day Sabbath?
With His love,
odette
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Hi Odette,
Ps.81:1-5 "...For this was a statute for Israel, and a law of the God of Jacob..." Yes before Moses but still Israel.
The sun and moon were indeed created on the fourth day! The light on the first day "let there be light" was the light of God as it will be in the New Jerusalem (Rev.21:23). (Creation article)
Gen.1:14, are the stars appointed for the seasons. v.14 "And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years:" (still 4th-day)
The sabbath is based on a weekly cycle not any calendar. The lunar calendar was nailed to the cross as the Gospel went to the Gentiles.
Thankfully the Roman calendar was aligned with the biblical weekly cycle, so there has been no change (Saturday is the 7th day of the week). If this were not so the Jews would reflect a different day of worship.
I personally like the idea of a lunar calendar and 30 day months (if it works out as 30 days without the slide ruler), we are just not under Christian government. Rome rules until the Second Advent. It's their government & calendar until then. Eastern and Western Roman Empire (Russian-Eastern Orthodox countries) go back and forth about which calendar they are going to use. (I still do not take part in Rome's holidays)
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Dear Amish,
If the luni-solar calendar based on barley as the Millerites used to establish the unimpeachable date of October 22, 1844 as demonstrated in the Grace Amadon Collection by scholars of the SDA church in 1939 and previous to that by the Millerites themselves, then the SDA church has a serious problem with the foundation of her faith, which is not the 7th day Sabbath, but the "ministration in the heavenly sanctuary" by our Great High Priest in the Most Holy Place since 1844.
The problem is not new. When it is time to discuss about the sanctuary calendar and the holy days, most people nail them to the cross as you are doing here with the lunar calendar, hich is not the correct way of calling the Biblical calendar anyway: the biblical calendar was never lunar only but it was: luni-solar barley harvest based. I hope people start using the right terminology regarding the sanctuary calendar which was restored by the Heavenly Father Himself in 1844: Luni-Solar Barley Harverst Calendation. It does make a difference to use the right wording!
Another problem which such conclusion that the "lunar calendar" was nailed to the cross is this one: why claim a Great Day of Atonement in 1844 based on the true Biblical luni-solar barley harvest calendation reckoning as used by the Millerites if it was nailed to the cross in AD 31? It is absolutely not consistent and totally unbiblical.
The Roman calendar does not lign up at all with the Biblical calendar: from the beginning of the year, to the numbers of days in the month, to the number of days in the year, to the fact that it is not lunar and based on the barley -- it starts in January, as a leap year every 4 years, as 30 to 31 days and used to be 8 days a week. Your statement contradicts October 22, 1844 as being the 10 day of the 7th month. The only way this can be proven is by using the Biblical Luni-solar Barley Harvest Calendation.
To confirm as well that the Jews do not calculate their holydays properly, and therefore cannot be trusted, it is a very well known fact that in 1844, September 23 was the Day of Atonement according to the Rabbinical Jews, a historic fact that has made SDA to loose their faith, because they cannot reconcile the true Biblical Luni-solar Barley harvest calendar with the false one used by the Jews since after the destruction of Jerusalem and the dispersion is based on the vernal equinox instead.
The Biblical calendar was not a 30 months calendar since it varied every month depending of the lunar cycle of 29 and 30 days. In Psalm 104 "The moon was appointed for seasons" confirms the appointment of the lights in Genesis 1:14. If the sun was created on the first day as confirmed by the SOP, and is used to reckon a day, where do you get your assumption that the light of the first day of Creation was the light of God as it will be in the New Jerusalem. I have never read that anywhere.
With His love,
odette
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Odette, The two lights in the sky were created the 4th-day (v16). There seems to be Hebrew parallelism in v14. And the Sabbath is based on a weekly cycle not any calendar.
1844 was calculated using the calendar under which the 2300 years began. Since then many historicist prophetic events have been calculated using Rome's calendar.
What was abolished at the cross is clearly itemized for us...
Colossians 2:14-16 “Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; … 16 Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink [offerings], or in respect of an holy day [Holy days], or of the new moon [months], or of the Sabbath days: [years eg; Passover sabbath]” Parenthesis are added.
Galatians 4:9-10 “But now, after that you have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn you again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto you desire again to be in bondage? You observe [Holydays] days, and months, [new moon] and times, and years [sabbatical years such as Passover].”
The meat and drink of the cerimonial offerings and high sabbaths that pointed as a schoolmaster toward a coming Messiah, the final sacrifice.
Ez.45:17 "And it shall be the prince's part to give burnt offerings, and meat offerings, and drink offerings, in the feasts, and in the new moons, and in the sabbaths, in all solemnities of the house of Israel: he shall prepare the sin offering, and the meat offering, and the burnt offering, and the peace offerings, to make reconciliation for the house of Israel."
Also in Gal 3 the Jews who had accepted Jesus fail to understand the ceremonial ordinances were done away with and try to continue in them to be corrected by Paul. -
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Dear Amish,
I have a test for you and all those who seem to think that the 7th day Sabbath is not part of any calendar, as Elder Rodriguez states as well from the BRI.
The test is: all the Gregorian calendars have disappeared from this planet. Now tell me please when are the next Sabbaths for the next 5 years?
I can tell you when His Sabbaths will be for the next 5 years without the help of the pope.
With His Love,
odette
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Dear Amish,
If you are correct about the meat and the Ceremonial Sabbaths, as being finished or fulfilled or nailed to the cross with Messiah first coming, then why as SDA do we claim the Great Day of Atonement only happening on October 22, 1844, some 1813 years after the cross?
Also, why do we abstain from eating pork and lobster, and should be abstaining from blood and fat if these statutes were nailed to the cross? Not too consistent is it not?
Happily it is consistent when you accept the fact that except for the sacrifices, offerings and oblations, which are the ceremonial laws, nothing else was nailed to the cross. The shadow of things to come were future according to Paul and according to SOP; what was nailed to the cross were only the sacrifices and offerings, adding to this the oblations. Read the book Patriarchs and Prophets and you will see what was nailed to the cross. The Feasts were never part of the Ceremonial law since they are STATUTES -- which means: Meant to be kept. 4 times the book of Leviticus chapter 23 says they are statutes, The SOP states that the statutes were not shadowy precepts to be nailed to the cross. Paul could not have nailed them to the cross. In the verses you quote, the SOP is very clear that the sacrifices and offerings were part of the ceremonial law and were nailed to the cross. But not the statutes of the Feasts.
Again, let us be consistent, how can we claim they are nailed to the cross in AD 31 and on the other hand, claim a Great Day of Atonement in 1844?
With His love,
odette
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