Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:05:11 — 59.7MB)
Subscribe: Gaana | Email | TuneIn | RSS | More
Welcome to the SightedMoon Podcast.
I’m your host, Ryan Nall, and I’m joined again today by Joseph Dumond, author and founder of SightedMoon.com. Joe, it’s great to have you back.
In our last episode, we discussed the question of authority—specifically how the biblical calendar was changed from one based on observable, agricultural signs in the land of Israel, such as the ripening of barley and the sighting of the new moon, to the fixed rabbinic calendar used today. We talked about how rabbinic authorities disbanded the original calendar system, usurped the authority of the Sanhedrin, and replaced it with a highly complex calculated calendar. Joe also shared compelling archaeological evidence supporting this historical shift, including his research on the Zoar tombstones.
Today, we want to take this discussion further, because the issue of authority doesn’t stop with the calendar.
Rabbinic authorities often argue that believers must submit to their authority, appealing to passages in Judges and other scriptures to justify this claim. But if we accept that argument—if we say we must submit to rabbinic authority on how the law is interpreted and practiced—then we need to ask an important question: what else are we agreeing to when we say that?
Authority is not something you can selectively submit to. If you accept it, you accept its rulings in full.
One of the clearest implications of this authority structure is the claim that there are two separate legal systems: one for Jews by birth, and another for Gentiles. This distinction is expressed through what are commonly known as the Seven Noahide Laws, which are presented as the full extent of Gentile obligation before God.
Those laws are:
-
Prohibition of idolatry
-
Prohibition of blasphemy
-
Prohibition of murder
-
Prohibition of sexual immorality
-
Prohibition of theft
-
Prohibition of eating flesh from a living animal
-
The requirement to establish courts of justice
According to rabbinic teaching, Gentiles are forbidden from going beyond these laws. That means calendar observance, Sabbath keeping, and biblical festivals are explicitly excluded.
In Sanhedrin 58b, the Talmud states that a Gentile who keeps the Sabbath is guilty of a capital offense. The reasoning given is that the Sabbath is a covenantal sign reserved exclusively for Israel, and that a Gentile who observes it is intruding into a covenant that does not belong to them.
This raises a serious problem.
If someone from another nation desires to serve the God of Israel—if they want to obey His commandments—you would think that would be welcomed. Instead, this system treats that desire as trespassing, as crossing into forbidden territory.
What’s even more striking is that there is no biblical passage that supports this position.
Maimonides, one of the most respected rabbinic authorities in history, writes in Laws of Kings and Wars, chapter 10, section 9, that Gentiles are not permitted to observe the Sabbath or establish festivals for themselves. He states that Gentiles must restrict themselves to the Seven Noahide Laws and may not innovate religious practices or perform commandments not specifically commanded to them—implying that the Sabbath and festivals are for Jews alone.
This means the debate over the calendar is not an abstract theological issue. It has real, concrete implications.
If someone says, “You must submit to rabbinic authority regarding the calendar,” then consistency demands that they also accept the rest of that authority—including the ruling that Gentiles must not keep the Sabbath, must not observe the festivals, and must not follow Israel’s calendar.
That’s the other side of the coin.
What becomes clear is that this system does not function as an entry point into obedience, but as a ceiling. Gentiles are allowed to obey only so far—and no further. They are not permitted to grow into deeper covenantal obedience.
So the question becomes unavoidable:
When two authorities claim opposite things, which one are you going to follow?
That’s where we’ll continue the conversation today.
I hope you enjoy the Podcast and make sure to share and subscribe to support the spreading of God’s Word!
Subscribe to the Podcast: https://www.subscribebyemail.com/sightedmoon.blubrry.com/feed/podcast/
Sign up for our weekly Free Newsletter https://sightedmoon.com/newsletter-lp/
We are also giving away The Stones Cry Out PDF for FREE at this link https://sightedmoon.com/the-stones-cry-out-lp/
You can also order the following books to learn more about where we are in these last days according to the Jubilee Cycle.
It Was A Riddle Not A Command (https://sightedmoon.com/riddle-lp)
The 2300 Days of Hell (https://sightedmoon.com/2300-days-lp)
Remembering the Sabbatical Year of 2016 https://sightedmoon.com/2016-sabbatical-year-co/
The Sabbatical and Jubilee Charts https://sightedmoon.com/sabbatical-chart-lp/
The Restoration of All Things https://sightedmoon.com/restoration-abomination-co/
The Abomination That Makes Desolate https://sightedmoon.com/restoration-abomination-co/
The 10 Days of Awe https://sightedmoon.com/10-days-of-awe-co/