Modern Sabbatarians insist that Saturday is the Sabbath of the Bible because they believe that the seven-day week has cycled without interruption ever since Creation. One reason for this belief is the fact that when the Julian calendar changed to the Gregorian calendar in 1582, no days of the week were lost. Thursday, October 4, 1582, on the Julian calendar was followed by Friday, October 15, on the new Gregorian calendar. Therefore, it is assumed, because no days were "lost" when the calendars transitioned from Julian to Gregorian, the modern week is identical to the Biblical week. This assumption is proven false in the historical facts of the Julian calendar itself. The calendar of the Roman Republic, like all ancient calendars, was originally based on lunar cycles. Pagan Roman priests, called pontiffs, controlled the calendar by announcing the beginning of months. These pontiffs, who could also hold political office, shamelessly manipulated the calendar for political r...