I’ve often wondered: when rulers and popes reformed the calendar, did they also tamper with the seven-day rhythm Yahuah established? Since I am not a Bible scholar, historian, or an expert in ancient cultural studies, I thought I would start my research at the beginning – with the seven day pattern set by Yahuah in Genesis.
Thus the heavens and the earth, and all the host of them were finished. And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done. Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all this work which God had created and made. Genesis 2:1-3
Later, in Leviticus 23:1-3 we are told that Moses was given instructions concerning feast days which included the seventh day Sabbath observance.
And Yahuah spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘The feasts of Yahuah, which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, these are My feasts. Six days shall work be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation. You shall do no work on it: it is the Sabbath of Yahuah in all your dwellings.
So here we have a record of the six days of creation, with the seventh day ordained as a rest day. Additionally we are told that on the fourth day of creation, Elohim placed lights in the firmament of the heaven (sky). Their purpose was to give light on the earth. The two great lights were the sun and moon. The lesser lights were stars.
And Elohim said, ‘Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years, and let them be for lights in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth: and it was so. Then Elohim made two great lights: the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night. He made the stars also. Elohim set them in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth, and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness. And Elohim saw that it was good. And there came to be evening and there came to be morning, the fourth day. Genesis 1:14-18
So here is the Divine arrangement as I understand it: the sun, the greater light, governs the day; the moon, the lesser light, marks months and appointed times (Ps. 104:19); and together with the stars, these lights serve as Yahuah’s ordained timepieces (Gen. 1:14). Yet the seventh-day Sabbath stands apart—rooted not in celestial cycles but in YHWH’s act of Creation. Scripture calls it an intermission of rest, an appointed feast day when His people are to cease from work and gather before Him.
And here is the heart of it: I believe that no empire or calendar revision has ever broken that seven-day rhythm. History, Scripture, and the enduring witness of Israel all confirm that the Sabbath remains untouched. The seventh day the world calls Saturday is still the day set apart by Yahuah Himself.
Tracing Seventh Day Sabbath Evidence Across History
No one has an unbroken chain of dated calendars that go all the way back to Creation. There is no archaeological ‘stone table calendar’ that proves ‘this was Day 7 in Eden.’ So if someone demands unerring proof that today’s seventh day known as ‘Saturday’ had continued without break from the Creation, I can’t supply it. Nor can you.
However, archaeology, together with the Bible and Near East history, can help us see how ancient people kept track of time. What’s striking is that, no matter how other nations measured months and years, Israel’s seven-day week and Sabbath rhythm stayed the same — a pattern set at Creation and carried through Israel’s history.
Historical Markers in the Preservation of the Seventh Day
1. At Sinai: The Rhythm Reinforced
In Exodus 16, the manna test shows a continuous seven-day cycle with no gaps or resets.
In Exodus 20:8–11, the Sabbath is rooted both in Creation and Covenant law.
In both cases, the rhythm of Creation is clearly preserved.
2. The Babylonian Exile: Sabbath Not Lost
In Ezekiel 20 and Nehemiah 13, the prophets rebuked Israel for breaking the Sabbath, not for forgetting which day it was.
During the exile, synagogues emerged as centers of worship, further reinforcing Sabbath observance.
Despite centuries of dispersion and persecution, the Jewish Sabbath today still aligns with the same seventh day we call Saturday.
3. In the New Testament Era: Continuity Confirmed
Yeshua kept the Sabbath faithfully (Luke 4:16).
After the crucifixion, the women rested “according to the commandment” (Luke 23:56).
Paul reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath (Acts 17:2).
If the seventh day had shifted, these practices would have been challenged — but they weren’t.
4. Roman and Later Reforms: The Week Intact
Even after Christians began gathering on the first day, no one denied that Jews still kept the seventh day.
Calendar reforms changed dates, not weekdays.Example: October 4, 1582 (Thursday) was followed by October 15, 1582 (Friday) without breaking the weekly cycle. This is huge.
5. Astronomical Perspective: Rhythm Unbroken
Modern astronomers confirm: while calendars were reformed, the seven-day rhythm never changed.
The International Date Line is a human convention for global navigation — it does not alter the unbroken cycle of weeks worldwide.
6. Addressing Common Counter-Arguments
Lost time theory? Disproven by Israel’s unbroken observance of the seventh day.
Lunar Sabbath theory? Scripture never commands or models lunar resets.
Exile confusion? The prophets rebuked Sabbath-breaking, not Sabbath-forgetting.
Astronomical drift? We still operate on 24-hour days; no weekly rhythm has ever shifted.
Saturn Worship & the Seventh Day
Torah observant Hebrews never named days of the week or months of the year after celestial bodies or Babylonian gods. Their days and months were numerically designated as day one, two, and so on. The only exception would be the month that restarts the annual calendar, which is Abib. After the Babylonian exile, we see that post-exilic “Jews” had moved away from the numerical naming months and assigned them Babylonian names such as Tammuz, Nisan, Elul, and Tisrei. These names are associated with cultic rituals, the goddess Ishtar, and Marduk, to name a few.
Greco-Roman culture also left its mark on timekeeping. The Romans named each day of the week after the seven “classical planets” — the sun, moon, and the five visible planets believed to shape human affairs: Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, and Saturn. The seventh day was dedicated to Saturn and called dies Saturni (“day of Saturn”), which eventually gave us the English word “Saturday.”
Why was the seventh day called ‘Saturday’, after Saturn? In ancient astronomy, Saturn was seen as the slowest-moving of the visible planets and the most distant in their understanding of the cosmos. Because slowness, weight, and the passage of time were linked with Saturn, the planet was assigned to the final place in the sequence of days. In this way, the seventh day became associated with Saturn, and the name spread through the Roman Empire, eventually taking root in Latin and Germanic languages as “Saturday.” And yet, it was always the seventh day of the week.
As was mentioned, these points I have made are based on personal research. You will have to decide the matter for yourself. My objective with this article was to broach the subject since we get this question a lot in our ministry.
The Seventh Day Is Tied to Faith in Yahuah
Scripture tells us, “It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, but the honor of kings is to search it out” (Proverbs 25:2). The most precious treasures—gold, rubies, diamonds—are not scattered on the surface; they must be mined. In the same way, the Word of Yahuah calls us to dig deep. When we search the Scriptures, aided by history, archaeology, and even the witness of creation itself, we uncover truths the world often overlooks.
One of those treasures is the Sabbath. In Exodus 31:16–17, Yahuah declares the seventh day of rest an eternal sign. In Exodus 20:8, He commands us to remember it. That alone tells me He has guarded it, ensuring it could never be dislodged from the cycle of days since Creation. The very survival of the Sabbath is evidence of His faithfulness across millennia.
So, did man’s calendar reforms succeed in tampering with Yahuah’s seven-day cycle? My response is an emphatic no. History, Scripture, archaeology, and the unbroken testimony of Israel all agree: the seventh day remains exactly where Yahuah placed it. Politicians may legislate, theologians may rename, but the rhythm of the week has not been broken.
Unlike the High Sabbaths that are fixed to calendar dates pertaining to Appointed Times, the weekly Sabbath is anchored in the continual seven-day cycle established at Creation. It was never about a date, but always about the day — the seventh day.
Editor’s Note (Updated May 2025): This article has been revised to reflect updated research and a clearer understanding of how the Zadok Priestly Calendar is calibrated. We encourage returning readers to review the updated sections with fresh insight.
Sacred calendars often evoke strong opinions and debates. It is clear that the Father’s intention is for these calendars to bring His children closer together, yet they frequently lead to division. This experience is not unique to us; throughout history, calendar-related disputes have been a source of contention among believers of all backgrounds. The so-called “calendar wars” have deep roots.
This article does not aim to persuade you that our ministry has uncovered the definitive solution to the “true” creation calendar. However, during Sukkot 2024, we were blessed with new insights that prompted us to reevaluate our approach to calendar methodology.
In light of these revelations, our 2025/2026 Zadok Priestly Calendar has evolved. We have shifted away from relying solely on the Equinox as a key marker indicating the start of the year. Going forward we will incorporate the six year Zadok Priestly course as the primary tool to determine the start of the year
Without getting mired in the minutiae of how we calibrated this calendar, we will instead highlight key aspects of how it was put together.
A Quick Zadok Calendar Overview
David’s role in setting up the priestly order
And David said, Solomon my son is young and untested, and the house which is to be put up for Yahuah is to be very great, a thing of wonder and glory through all countries; so I will make ready what is needed for it. So David got ready a great store of material before his death.
1 Chronicles 22:5 Bible in Basic English Translation
David never saw Solomon’s house for Yahuah. However, it was in his heart to build it in Jerusalem during the 33 years he reigned over the “united people nation of Israel.”
1 Chronicles 24 tells us one of David’s first tasks was to divide the Levitical priesthood into divisions. Some would serve before Yahuah, some would sing and play instruments, and some would guard it with all their strength.
King David drew lots for sixteen Zadok families of the sons of Eleazar, and eight Ahimelech families of the sons of Ithamar, according to offices in their services. Both Zadok and Ahimelech were the high priests during the reign of King David.
The Zadok Priestly Calendar runs for 6 years straight and uses:
Sun, moon, stars, and the Priestly courses
Keeps the 7 day count set-apart per instructions given in Genesis
Has 364 days, 12 months, 30-day month (+1 at the end of each season)
There are 52 Shabbats per year, which are never disturbed by a Feast Holy Sabbath. This means you will never begin Sukkot on the weekly Shabbat or any other feast. The weekly Shabbats are set-apart just like the feasts.
How is this calendar intercalated?
A complete week is intercalated at the end of the sixth year. (Stars are a witness. 1 Enoch 82)
Insights Into Ancient Timekeeping
To correctly understand our Zadok Priestly Calendar you must also understand the priestly courses. There are 24 families of priests mentioned in 1 Chronicles 24. They remain the same throughout a six year cycle. The priestly family that serves at the beginning of each year of the six year course is as follows:
1st year = Gamul
2nd year = Yedaiah
3rd year = Miyamin
4th year = Shecaniah
5th year = Yeshebeab
6th year = Aphses
This priestly order ensured three outcomes:
The 7 day shabbat will always remain unbroken.
The priestly families stayed in order and served a total of thirteen weeks throughout the 6 year Priestly course.
The families Gamul and Shecaniah would rotate beginning every three years as a sign “ot” that an additional thirty day month would be added that year, allowing the 354 day lunar cycle (3 x 354 + 30 = 1092) time to catch up with the 364 day solar cycle (3 x 364=1092) throughout the Zadok Priestly course. DSS 4Q319
Without the correct sign of the moon, your years will go astray and you won’t know which year the moon truly adds the extra cycle to back it up. This is most likely what Jubilees is talking about in Chapter 6:33-38. They lost the sign of the moon to witness the seventh year land rest Sabbaticals and Jubilees. So the moon does have a place in the calendar, it is just not for days, months, and years.
Using the book A New Translation: The Dead Sea Scrolls1 we found 4Q320 along with other fragments stating that a full moon was on the 4th day of the week (Wednesday) Month 1, Day 1 of the first year with Gamul serving, along with another full moon on the fifth day of the week on the 29th (day of a lunar month), and falls on the 30th of the 1st month (according to the solar month) with Yedaiah in service.
There are over 25 priest and moon conjunctions along with days of the week, Sabbaths, and Feast Day matches in 2019 alone. There were nine such matches in 2020 (year 2), And seven matches in 2023 (year 5).
With only the Dead Sea Scrolls book we concluded that the Spring Equinox was the marker for starting the year in 2022. But there was still more proof and patterns that needed to be matched.
So in 2024, using The Complete Dead Sea Scrolls by Geza Vermes we found the rest of the 6 year matches completing 2019-2024 to start 2025. When matching all of the records from the Dead Sea Scrolls onto the moon calendars of our time we were shocked to see that no week was added in the six year priestly course of the priests!
When no week was added in those six years we discovered that the Equinox was not the tool needed to decide when to intercalate but the six year Zadok Priestly Course itself. By intercalating at the end of the priestly six year course, the Sabbatical and Jubilee years recorded in the Dead Sea Scrolls now matched, with Gamul always serving the last three days of one six year course followed by a seven day intercalary week then finishing his service week at the start of the new six year course count.
A Jubilee period is 6 years of priestly course cycles. So 6 x 49 = 294
March 20, 2019was the start of the 295th year, the fiftieth year of the Jubilee count and the first year of the new 294 year count with Gamul returning as the priest. The first week of the new cycle of 294 years is what the Zadok priests considered “creation week” with the Equilux (equal day and equal night) occurring on Day 1 (Sunday) and on Day 4 (Wednesday), the Equinox and full moon occurring which is also Month 1 Day 1 of the first year of the next six year Zadok Priestly calendar count.
The “creation week” sequence of events which occurred in 2019 is a very rare event leading us to believe Yahuah and Yeshua are calling for “a united people nation of Israel” to return to the calendar Yahuah created during His creation week.
Stellarium Web Image – stellarium-web.org**
After conducting some straightforward calculations over several years of lunar cycles, we identified full moons coinciding with Gamul in 1726 AD and 1432 AD. Looking ahead, we found similar matches extending to 2050. By utilizing the Zadok Priestly courses we confirmed that the same patterns observed in the Dead Sea Scrolls remain consistent. Notably, an additional week is always added at the end of the sixth year, marking the beginning of the seventh year, which also serves as the first year of the subsequent six-year cycle.
In doing this research, another amazing find was discovered in 2024. After several years of watching the Constellations, a solid witness to the intercalation week was found.
On March 11 and 12, 2024 the sun entered Pisces. According to the priestly courses 2024 is a sixth year starting with Aphses on March 13. On September 14, the sun entered Virgo which was the first day of the seventh month on the Zadok Priestly Calendar according to this six year cycle. So far everything is matching up to the cycle.
Now when you get to March 2025, day 364 is March 11 and it’s year one again. So it’s time to add the interaction week with Pisces as our witness.
Back to the Future
What’s so special about the year 2019? Plenty. In 2019 the year began on March 20th, the 4th day of the week (Wednesday). On that day several things occurred:
It was a full moon
The Equinox occurred
The sun was in Pisces
It was the service week for the priest Gamul
The GWDF Priestly Calendar added an intercalary reset week beginning the 1st year of this new six year priestly cycle on March 19, 2025. In 2025 the full moon occurred on Friday, March 14th, the Equilux occurred on Sunday, March 16. In Texas, and other parts of the USA the “straight line day” occurred on Day 4, Wednesday, March 19th. Gamul was the priest in service at the start of the year and on the 30th day of the lunar cycle Yedaiah was the priest entering service under a full moon.
Sketches of priests from the Phillip Medhurst Collection
Who is Zadok?
Zadok was a Kohen (member of priestly class) and is noted in biblical texts as a descendant of Eleazar, the son of Aaron. He served as the High Priest of Israel during the reigns of Kings David and Solomon. Zadok is also the name of the priesthood mentioned in Ezekiel’s vision of a future house of Yahuah.
This area is set aside for the ordained priests, the descendants of Zadok who served me faithfully and did not go astray with the people of Israel and the rest of the Levites.
Ezekiel 48:11 New Living Translation
Final Thoughts
These new insights concerning this new Zadok Priestly Calendar for 2025/2026 are based on years of exhaustive research done by our ministry partners Gina Sparks and Sara Davis. We are also indebted to GWDF leadership team members Sherry Sanders and Robert Villa for their passionate love for the Scriptures and YHWH’s creation calendar.
If you want to know more about the calendar, or need clarification on topics mentioned in this article, feel free to contact us. Thank you for downloading the 2025/2026 Zadok Priestly Calendar and supporting this ministry. Shalom.
FOOTNOTES
1 The Dead Sea Scrolls: A New Translation, translated and with commentary by Michael Wise, Martin Abegg Jr., and Edward Cook. Harper One, copyright 1996, 2005.
** By referencing the constellation Pisces or showing images from Stellarium Web, GWDF is not endorsing the practice of Astrology. We suggest you do research on the Mazzaroth which is mentioned in the Book of Job ( Job 38:32) in relation to the stars and their positions in the sky. Another reference is Frances Rolleston’s book Mazzaroth. (The first edition of “Mazzaroth” was published by James Nisbet & Co. in 1862). The word “Mazzaroth” in Hebrew (מַזָּרוֹת) generally refers to the constellations.
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