The luni-solar truth requires that everyone study for himself to see if these things are so (Acts17: 11). It requires effort. It requires time. But once you start with the right spirit and mindset, you do not want to stop studying! It’s really worth all the effort!
I was born into a Greek Orthodox family, although our family was not generally interested in spiritual matters. I have one brother and one sister. At the age of 7, I lost my father in a terrible accident.
When I was 14, I knew of the Seventh-day Adventist church and began reading Adventist literature (The Great Controversy, etc.). I became convicted of the Adventist message. My brother, sister, and I faced fierce opposition from our uncles because of our ties with some Adventist relatives and our interest in joining the SDA church, which took place in 2004.
Eventually we became more and more independent of our uncle who had been taking care of us. We became increasingly tied to one of our SDA relatives who assumed the role of our mother, and had a great role in helping us join the church.
After finishing high school in 2004, I started my undergraduate studies at a Seventh-day Adventist University in a nearby country. I quickly became involved in university church activities and student life. I formed friendships with the SDAs, and along the way I fell in love with a classmate. We shared many education courses as we were both majoring in Education. She was a Maronite, an eastern branch of the Catholic Church.
While doing my Bachelor of Arts degree in Secondary Education, I started another program of study in Arabic literature and grammar at another university. Some time into my graduation year from the Adventist University, my girlfriend broke up with me!
At first, it was terribly painful. The pains over this separation were coupled with problems at home with “the Adventist Mum,” in addition to all the demands of the two B.A. programs. This took place late 2007 and into 2008.
I could not figure out what was happening or why. Occasionally, I would pray about it and receive really encouraging messages from His word, but still nothing specific was given as to why all of these “separations” were taking place. One problem after the other, the changes were sweeping and fast. In the meanwhile, my sister was having immense pressure from one of her teachers. My sister was a brilliant student. She was determined to study medicine in order to join some form of medical missionary work. Her teacher's daughter was also in the same class and was strongly competing with my sister for the highest marks in the class.
All of these sweeping rapid changes produced the following results:
After graduating from the Adventist University, I enrolled in the graduate program, and was studying for my fourth and last year of Bachelor of Arts in Arabic. I was also working with the Al-Waad Channel, which is the Arabic version of the Hope Channel.
Those days in December 2009, will be always remain fresh in my mind. My sister, who was staying in our home country, told she would be visiting me for some time. The purpose of her visit was not to meet with me, but to meet with a team member from World’s Last Chance, Brother Sameh. She had recently been visiting WLC and studying their various teachings.
After around a week or so, my sister came to my place a new person. She began sharing with me very strange ideas:
At first, I was very agitated over her new attitude to “our Adventist church.” I remember, it was a Saturday, and I was in charge of the Sabbath school. The theme was, of course, Christmas. I considered myself a good student of the Bible and I was determined to “get her back to sanity.” I wanted my sister to continue her studies. I tried to reason with her using various arguments, twisting Scripture, resorting to common sense and logic, hoping I would undo all the “brainwashing” she had been exposed to.
She told me, “Are you willing to study with me?” I accepted the challenge. Leafing through her small notebook, she began sharing the Biblical arguments for the luni-solar calendar with me. I had never seen my sister this involved and interested in bible study!
The themes were fresh and new. I was not prepared for such a battle! After a "short" discussion lasting several hours, I was faced with two options: either to blindly ignore the strong arguments my sister was presenting from the Bible in support of “her new Sabbath” and just go with the large masses who keep Saturday, or to have the moral courage to admit I had been keeping the wrong day.
Thankfully, I did not continue to cling to being offensive and opinionated. I chose to follow this new, unfolding truth. I felt very close to my sister as she was the one sharing this Sabbath truth with me. I could tell she was a changed person. She was focused, well-oriented, and clear on the next step: sharing this truth as soon as possible with as many as possible. She logged in to AO (Adventist Online) to try to share with SDAs.
Before she went back home, she handed me a copy of a book she had accepted from Sameh:The Great Calendar Controversy, a really precious gift. She told me, “Keep this book. I will need it. Keep in mind the copies are limited. If you don’t intend to read, I will take it.”
The day she was going back home, I escorted her by bus to another city. On the way, I read chapter 1 of the book and explained to her English words that she did not know. Yet some facts presented were difficult for both of us to understand.
| Accepting this truth makes you feel special and highly favored in Heaven's eyes. It makes you feel jealous and zealous for Yahuwah's truth which is trodden underfoot by the world. This truth separates you from the world only to re-unite you more with your Saviour. |
We were so excited with what we were learning, that we were trying to share this Sabbath truth even with other passengers in the bus. Of course, to them it was nonsense. But to us, it was enjoyable regardless of what they might have thought of us.
We also discussed how to share our newly-found faith with our eldest brother. We knew he would not be happy at all with a floating Sabbath whose observance would mean leaving school. We were determined to stick together no matter what. After all, we were the majority! We decided to wait until we were together before telling him.
I was so touched by the book and felt that Yah was speaking to me through it and that He was working on the inside of me to draw me closer to His infinite loving heart like never before. Accepting this truth makes you feel special and highly favored in His eyes. It makes you feel jealous and zealous for His truth which is trodden underfoot by the world. It separates you from the world only to re-unite you more with your Saviour.
Now, my sister and I were no longer together. We each had our own battles on different fronts. I was in direct contact with SDAs as I was working with them, studying for my Master's degree with them, superintending the Sabbath school, and on top of it all, I was staying in the dormitory of the Adventist University.
What to do next? Should I tell them? Or wait and study some more about this truth in order to get ready for their questions and objections? How could I take Sabbath off when it was a regular working day in Al-Waad Studio? What about attending university classes? O.K., I didn’t have to attend classes on that particular day, but what about final end-of-year exams? What guarantee did I have that none would fall on a Sabbath? I was tempted to think that Yah might bless me by scheduling exams on days other than Sabbath, but that reasoning did not originate from Heaven, I guarantee!
I knew right then that continuing my studies would be a waste of time, money and energy - time, money and energy which could be sanctified for ministry in these remaining few years before Yahushua Messiah returns. The decision was not an easy one, for I love Arabic literature and had planned a different course for my future, but Yah had other plans.
I attended a few sessions in class and that was my chance to talk to some of my classmates of this truth. Most of the students were Catholics. As I was sharing with one of them, I got the clear impression that they thought I was being very foolish. The whole idea of leaving school when I had only one year to go before graduation, was really alien to them. I remember how when I was talking to one of them, almost the whole class got involved in the discussions. They brought up many topics: the trinity, the Holy Spirit, etc.
One said, “God knows your heart. He knows when you want to obey His commandment and keep His day holy, but He excuses you when you attend class on that day. For me, even if the exam fell on a Sunday, I wouldn't have a problem taking it.”
Those days when I was ministering face-to-face were a real blessing - probably more to me more than it was to them! My faith was being built and established more and more. I had known those students for almost three years, but never had I dared openly challenge their beliefs like I did after accepting the lunar Sabbath. Keeping this Sabbath has made religion come alive more than it ever has before.
I even photocopied The Great Calendar Controversy (the inside cover of the book said it was alright!) so I could have my own copy, and started to delve into the world of luni-solar calendation. Although I could not understand everything, I understood enough to accept this truth.
Satan, however, was trying to keep me very busy so that I would have no time for studying this truth. He was trying to burden me with extra time-consuming distractions. I was offered another job: teaching an Arabic course at the Adventist University. At first I accepted, but a little later I realized I was falling into Satan’s snares. I declined to teach the course, praise Yah!
I approached the SDA manager at Al-Waad Studio. I shared with him this truth, and asked him to allow me to take off any day of the week for “keeping this new Sabbath.” As I was working part-time, I could make up for my absence by working full-time later. He accepted my request on the condition that I didn’t work on a Satyrday, “their Sabbath.”
In the next few weeks, I started a small campaign sharing this truth with SDA church members. The pastor of my local church wanted to prove to me that the weekly cycle has never been broken. He said that the verses in Ezekiel 46, which establish three different types of days in the Bible, were conditional verses, and that, in fact, this whole section of Ezekiel was conditional.
I saw no light in his arguments. He was blindly adhering to church teachings instead of Scripture. His claims in no way nullified the fact that there are three classifications of days in Scripture and that these three different types of days appear throughout the Bible.
Of course, I had other stumbling blocks that, for a time, shook my faith in this truth. Some examples include the following:
a) Day 30 of the lunar month. “What happens after the Sabbath of the 29th? Genesis 1 says that after every 6 days of work, a 7th day Sabbath follows. Does it mean this week following the 29th has only one day?"
b) How can you know with certainty when the New Moon will occur? (Now I know that you can know the dates for future new moons in advance using calculation. This is why everyone should empower him/herself by getting educated in order to answer these and other questions).
c) The strange part for him was the concept of the long holiday after day 29.
It was obvious he was just trying to cling to any apparent contradiction, or even create one, in order to stick to a Saturday Sabbath.
All along, though, I could almost hear that calm inner voice of the Heavenly Father’s endorsement of this truth.
If I had a question, I would ask Brother Sameh. In fact, Sameh and I were in constant contact via Skype, emails, etc. Almost every day we discussed a variety of topics related to the luni-solar calendar. He has been really helpful in clarifying many misconceptions.
One of the problems that lunar Sabbath keepers may have in explaining the truth has to do with the linguistic resemblance that Saturday has, in many languages, to the word “Sabbath.” This is the case in Arabic: the words for Saturday and Sabbath are not close. No, they are identical. This is why calling Wednesday a "Sabbath" seems absolutely insane. Sometimes, your own culture or language may be an obstacle. But look at the other available evidences and weigh the arguments presented.
I think one of the best ways you, as a new believer in this truth, can get encouraged and stay firm and strong amidst fierce opposition, is to share your newly found faith. BE SILENT NO MORE!
Tell people of this truth. Send them articles. For those who cannot read, explain the Sabbath in a simple way. Focus on the moon and how it is high up in the skies, away from man’s alterations and amendments. Almost everywhere you go, you find it up in the sky following you, making sure you see it so you know that the Sabbath is approaching.
Get busy with explaining this truth. You may be asked new questions, but this will serve to simply open your mind on new avenues of the subject. You have an account on Facebook? Use it for promoting the truth, sharing WLC videos and 4angelspublications.com.
The WLC series of Three Months in a Row is really special. The earlier version was really nice, especially part 1, the music and the introduction. I used to watch such clips again and again.
When I returned home and met my sister and brother, it was like my brother was asking me to convince my sister to continue her studies. He did not know that I myself had decided to quit school and was no longer attending classes as before. My sister and I presented a united front before our brother. There was shouting, there was tension, there was division. There was no peace.
I see that Yah had a special wisdom in making both of us keepers of this Sabbath, otherwise it would have been more difficult for my sister to stand against my brother and me.
Christmas of 2009 was approaching. My brother was totally shocked to learn we were leaving school. We were known by the village people as straight-A students, high achievers who, despite the fact that we were orphans, did very well in school. We had planned to live different lives, to build different futures, but now as a result of embracing the true Sabbath we were suddenly "bad examples" to others. We were an object of ridicule.
My brother is a lawyer and he was afraid of the effect our new belief would have on his law practice. He was concerned that if we told others that "Sabbath" was on Monday (in other words, that Saturday was on Monday, since Saturday = Sabbath in Arabic), he was afraid people would make fun of us and crack jokes at our expense. He thought it would tarnish his reputation as a successful lawyer to have his siblings espousing such strange beliefs. Who would turn for any case to a lawyer whose brother and sister said that "Tuesday was the Saturday," while the villagers were using his brother and sister as an example of perseverance and diligence at school?
My brother had sacrificed a lot for us both. He was like our father. He loved us and we felt sort of obliged to obey him and make him happy. At the same time, we were more committed to our Creator and Father in Heaven. Whom to obey: the Creator or man?
Then I also had to deal with this question from one of my uncles, “Some years ago, you used to say that the SDA church was the true church. But now you have left it. You keep moving from one church to another!"
I am thankful to those who encouraged us through e-mails from WLC. The last day of the year, 2009, things escalated so badly that we asked the WLC team for prayer. We got many responses to our Urgent Answer Needed e-mail address.
To make a long story short, I returned to the SDA church, continued to study these things, and finally asked to have my membership dropped from the church I had sacrificed to join. I was reconciled to my “Adventist mum” and I tried to reconcile with those who had cut ties with me and vice versa. I am still trying to do this. I even shared this truth with my ex-girlfriend, but to no avail. In fact, I have been thankful that she broke up with me.
Likewise, my sister should have been thankful to that teacher and her daughter who made school life difficult for her, so she could be more attentive to Yah’s plans for her life rather than her own plans for academic studies. Yah’s hidden hand was working in mysterious darkness in order bring me and my sister to His glorious light.
Currently, my sister and I are happily serving Yah, enjoying liberty of conscience and the fellowship of like-minded believers outside our home country. The hardships we faced at the start have been overcome. Now there are different types of temptations and attacks from Satan. This will always be the case as long as we are living here on earth. My brother respects our convictions and we pray that one day he will accept this truth, too.
We so appreciate all of the efforts of the WLC team, the authors of The Great Calendar Controversy, and all others who have put in a lot of effort to spread His Sabbath truth.
If you are a believer in this truth, expect to be ridiculed, mocked and called names from your friends and even loved ones. This truth is divisive!
| Stay true to principle no matter what and Yah will never leave you nor forsake you. |
For some time, it was difficult for me to cope with how the SDAs had changed the way they viewed me. I could sense it in some people’s looks, in their eyes and tone of voice. Once I was going up to the roof to have a better view of the moon. A friend of mine asked me sarcastically, “Are you going up to see the moon more clearly?” There was a lot of peer pressure for being different. If you feel like that as well, take heart: Yahushua was labeled as different, too. You can not be a son of Yah if you are not different.
My boss at work told me that I could continue to work with them even if I wanted keep my Sabbath on any day of the week, on the one condition that I keep silent about the truth. I am happy that I am no longer employing any talent given me by Yah in service of a church that promotes pagan days of worship instead of the real Sabbath of creation.
Take comfort in knowing that you are keeping holy the very day that Adam, the Patriarch, Yahushua and His early followers kept holy.
Appreciate this truth. Make it a living testimony of Yah’s law. Stand true to principle no matter what, and Yah will never leave you nor forsake you. Get united with your fellow Sabbath-keeping believers worldwide in hallowing the day that Yah designated.
You may be called to remain alone in this war, like the Saviour was in the garden of Gethsemane. Remember: you are not alone! You are accompanied by His ministering spirits sent to serve the heirs of His eternal salvation. Not long from now, if you stay faithful to the end, you will be keeping Sabbath in the new heaven and new earth with the multitudes of faithful ones from all the ages. “From new moon to another, and from one Sabbath to the other shall all flesh come to worship before Me” (Isaiah 66: 23).
AMEN!