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.
Brenda Ross is a co-author of the book, "The Gospel Worth Dying For." She is a former major market radio and television broadcaster who has served as Single’s Ministry Director at one of Houston’s Memorial Drive-area churches, a Jews for Jesus staff volunteer, and participated in mission outreach activities in Costa Rica, Mexico, and China. Urban mission experience includes volunteer work for Habitat for Humanity and catering to the homeless in San Francisco’s Tenderloin district.
Respectfully,
I want to give you another perspective.
1. Judaism says that Saturday is the Sabbath. Actually, they say Friday night to Saturday night is the Sabbath. Most Sabbath observant Christians follow this rabbinic (man-made) religion. The fact that Judaism says it means nothing to the students of Yeshua who want to follow Him only.
2. The DSS and the book of Jubbilies differs in understanding the Sabbath.
Both maintain that the first day of every year is the 4th day of the week. This cannot be true if the days of the week never drifted.
The reason for this is that the Sun was created on the fourth day of the week. The calendar, which is strictly solar according to Jubilees 2:9, must begin the first day of the first month, which is the day the Sun was created.
For this reason, the book of Jubbilies states that the majority in Israel 2,000 years ago celebrated the Sabbath of the wrong day. Jubilees 6:36 & 37 say they will go wrong as it pertains to the months (“new moons”), Sabbaths, Feasts, and Jubilees.
It separates new months (there were four of them per year), the weekly Sabbaths (52 per year), the annual Feast days (7 rest days and two weeks of pilgrimage per year, and the Jubilees every 49th year. The majority went wrong will each category, which includes the weekly Sabbath.
3. Enoch and Elijah were the only people recorded to have never tasted death. For this reason, they will return and prophecy and die in the streets of Jerusalem before the return of our Master.
The man Enoch, according to the apostle Jude, authored the book of Enoch.
Enoch also wrote of this strictly solar calendar. It is my belief that part of the restoration of all things spoken of in Acts 3:21, is this calendar being restored.
4. The only Hebrew name that has a numerical value of 666 is Satur. I find this very interesting as it relates to this discussion.
The name mysteriously finds itself in one place in all of Scripture: Numbers 13:13.
Shalom Jacob,
I appreciate your feedback on the article. At GWDF take the position that everyone who visits our website will not always agree with our positions on certain topics. Our role is not to be theological or research ‘gatekeepers’ but, in the spirit of the Bereans encourage our site visitors to dig into the Scriptures and come to their own conclusions.
We recognize that we are all in different seasons of understanding. In that spirit I have read through your points and will consider what you have posted. However, I just want to quickly clarify my position regarding a couple of your comments.
Point #1: I do not believe that the day begins in darkness. See this article: https://gospelworthdyingfor.com/does-the-day-begin-in-darkness/
Point #3: The Bible does not support the notion that Enoch and Elijah ‘never tasted death.’ In our book “The Gospel Worth Dying For” we maintain that both Enoch and Elijah are both dead and awaiting resurrection in Sheol. On pages 61-63 of the book we state:
“Truth is, they are both dead and awaiting resurrection in Sheol. If Elijah was indeed translated in a fiery chariot (2 Kings 2:11) to the layer of heaven (shamanism) where the Most High resided, then how is it that he is able to send a written message to Jehorem in 2 Chronicles 21:12? Elijah merely ascended into the sky by means of a chariot of fire. He did not go to the Heaven of heavens. As you read through 2 Kings 2:11 and explore the meaning of the word heaven you will see things more clearly. the Hebrew word for heaven used here is shamanism, It can mean either sky or heaven. Here the verse is referring to the visible heaven — or sky — where birds fly. (The stellar heaven where the stars reside is in another layer of the heavens.) The Hebrew word fo rum used here is alas, and means “to go up, ascend or to climb.” Recall that another translation event occurred with Philip and the eunuch in Acts 8:36-39. The word for carried is harpazo which can mean to seize, catch up, or snatch away. So in essence Philip was carried away by the Spirit to a town called Azotus. He was picked up in one place and dropped off in another. Flesh and blood can not enter the eternal realm…This means that neither Elijah nor Enoch would have been allowed to “jump the line and ascent to Heaven before Yeshua, the first fruits of the resurrection.
Jubilees 7:39
And I also will give you commandment my sons as Enoch commanded his son int he first Jubilees: While still living, the seventh in his generation, he commanded and testified to his son and to his sons’ sons until the day of his death.
I the Apostle Paul’s letter to the believer at Corinth, he refers to Yeshua as the first fruits (1 For 15:23-24). The term first fruits sounds strange to contemporary ears because it is the language of the Levitical priesthood. The Hebrew word for first fruits used here is bikkurim, and refers to the harvest of ripened wheat that was gathered and offered to Yahuah in accordance with the Shavuot rituals.
The resurrection order begins with Yeshua and is followed by a group of believers we will refer to as the first resurrection saints. Remember, these include the righteous dead who are redeemed from Sheol and those alive on each on the Day of the Lord. Keep in mind that when Sheol is emptied of righteous souls, there is another compartment left still occupied by the unrighteous.
To get a more comprehensive understanding on the positions we take, download our book. It is available free as a PDF.