WHY DO MOST CHRISTIANS BEGIN THEIR SABBATH OBSERVANCE ON FRIDAY AT SUNSET? In the question and answer section of the May 1995 issue of the Bible Advocate magazine, the following question was asked, When is the Sabbath day over? At sundown (when it is dark) or at 6:00 p.m. year-round? They answered, the simplest answer to the question is found in TWO VERSES of scripture. Leviticus 23:32 tells when the celebration of Gods Sabbaths is to begin and end: from evening to evening (NKJV). Mark 1:32 helps us understand when the evening is; when the sun had set (NKJV). Based largely on these TWO TEXTS, the Church of God (Seventh Day) observes the seventh-day Sabbath from sunset (Friday) until sunset (Saturday)...A few people have developed alternative ideas from scripture about the time for beginning and ending a day. One of these maintains a TWELVE-HOUR Sabbath, from SUNRISE to Sunset. Others are more complex. It seems better to observe the SIMPLE sunset to sunset FORMULA supported above, just as Sabbathkeepers of the ORTHODOX HEBREW FAITH DO TO THIS DAY. Question. Do most Christian Sabbathkeepers observe the sunset to sunset tradition because they have searched the numerous scriptures that tell us when a day begins, or do they simply follow the orthodox Hebrew faith? Turning our attention once again to the book The Time of The Crucifixion and the Resurrection (Chapter 6), we read, It may be surprising to some to note that no specific instructions are given in the Fourth Commandment on the manner and TIME of Sabbathkeeping. The only injunction given is to Remember the Sabbath day (My note: LIGHT), to keep it holy by doing all ones work in six days and by resting the seventh day (my note: LIGHT) to the Lord your God. If we take a closer look at this text we will discover that the time of Sabbathkeeping IS found within the Fourth Commandment. Since GOD CALLED THE LIGHT DAY, we are to Remember the Sabbath LIGHT, to keep it Holy (Exodus 20:8). And that Sabbath is on the SEVENTH LIGHT (Exodus 20:10). NOT the SEVENTH NIGHT. This book continues: ...it is thus IMPORTANT to note at the outset that the method of observing the Sabbath from SUNSET TO SUNSET is dictated NOT BY THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT ITSELF (my note: agreed), but by the method of sunset reckoning which BECAME NORMATIVE IN JEWISH HISTORY. (Chapter 6) Certainly, the sunset to sunset method of reckoning a day is a long standing tradition. Lets read about another long standing tradition. THROUGHOUT JEWISH HISTORY, there were a number of individuals who claimed to be the Messiah. While each of these people gained some following at first, NONE of them---INCLUDING JESUS--fulfilled the messianic expectations. Thus in Judaism, NO ONE HAS BEEN ACCEPTED AS THE MESSIAH. (Every Persons Guide to Judaism, pp. 6-7). It is no secret that Jews and Christians have disagreed on many Biblical doctrines over the centuries, including the most important one to Christians stated above. So why would Christians follow the sunset to sunset method of reckoning a day simply because it is a LONG STANDING TRADITION of Judaism? Quoting from the book What is a Jew?, note the following. It is not easy to draw any rigid lines separating JEWISH LAW and JEWISH CUSTOM. There is an ancient saying that in Judaism CUSTOM BECOMES LAW. And the history of Judaism will reveal MANY religious laws widely recognized and observed, which had their origin in LONG-ACCEPTED FOLK PRACTICES. (p. 105). The author states that any standard manual of Jewish law points out that customs vary within the faith in different parts of the world. Another interesting statement is found in the book This is The Torah. When Rabbis in the academies of BABYLONIA declared that because of the uncertainty of the calendar (It was not always possible to fix precisely when the New Moon of TISHRI had appeared and the month had actually begun), Rosh Hashana should be celebrated as a TWO-DAY holiday (p. 315)...Since the Bible specified that Rosh Hashana should be a ONE-DAY holiday, the Rabbis had to JUSTIFY the CHANGE to a TWO-DAY holiday. This was done by means of a LEGAL FICTION: they began referring to the TWO DAYS of Rosh Hashana as YOMA ARICHTA, meaning ONE LONG DAY of FORTY-EIGHT HOURS... (p. 386). If a period of time consisting of 48 HOURS was considered ONE LONG DAY, it does not take a rocket scientist to understand how easy it would be to take the period of LIGHT (DAY) and combine it with the NIGHT and simply rename this 24 hour period Day. If you are expecting find many scriptures explaining why tradition places sunset as the beginning of a day, you will be as disappointed as I was when I asked my Sunday keeping Pastor to show me from the Bible why we should keep Sunday instead of the Sabbath. Over and over again, I found that the standard explanation goes something like this. All Jewish days begin at sunset. This reckoning is based on the wording of the creation story in Genesis 1. At the end of the description of each day, we find the phrase: And there was evening, and there was morning... Since EVENING IS MENTIONED FIRST, the ancient Rabbis DEDUCED THAT EVENING IS FIRST. (Every Persons Guide to Judaism, p.5). In the next section we will examine the above deduction of the Rabbis, as we look at the second half of Genesis 1:5. Following the last section, I will give you numerous scriptures and quotes for your study that support my position. AND THE EVENING AND THE MORNING WERE THE FIRST DAY (GENESIS 1:5) Can we deduce from Genesis 1:5 that a day begins at evening because EVENING IS MENTIONED FIRST? Is evening mentioned first? What does God say? And God called the LIGHT DAY... (Genesis 1:5). The very first thing that God tells us in this verse is that LIGHT = DAY. Evening is NOT mentioned at all. The second thing God tells us is, and the DARKNESS he called NIGHT. First we have LIGHT which is called DAY and second we have DARKNESS which is called NIGHT. This 24 HOUR period consists of THE TWO SEASONS OF DAY AND NIGHT. This is NOT a 24 Hour day. At this point the word EVENING has still not been mentioned. The third thing that God says is, And the EVENING and the MORNING were the first DAY (LIGHT). God has already told us that (1) LIGHT = DAY and that (2) DARKNESS = NIGHT. Does He all of a sudden, change His mind within this same verse to tell us that a day begins at EVENING? No. He is simply telling us that in His definition of a DAY, that He considers both EVENING AND MORNING LIGHT. And the EVENING and the MORNING were the first DAY (LIGHT). You will note that NIGHT is NOT mentioned here at all, because NIGHT = DARKNESS and EVENING AND MORNING = LIGHT and are a part of the 12 HOUR DAY. So why is it that in the third section of this verse, Evening mentioned before Morning? Quoting once again from The Time of The Crucifixion and the Resurrection (Chapter 5): In the Bible the MORNING is GENERALLY MENTIONED BEFORE THE EVENING, because this is the ORDER in which they came in the WAKING AND WORKING DAY. (my note: see 1Samuel 17:16). The author is correct. When you search the Bible you will find that this is a NATURAL PATTERN THROUGHOUT THE SCRIPTURES. An interesting thing to note when reading the scriptures is that THE ORDER FOUND IN AN EXPRESSION IS NOT NECESSARILY THE ORDER FOUND IN THE ACTUAL EVENT. In other words since Morning is GENERALLY mentioned before Evening in the word, the fact that evening is mentioned before morning in Genesis 1:5 does NOT NECESSARILY indicate that EVENING COMES FIRST. The key to knowing what comes first is the same key that we use when we study any other subject. We search all of the scriptures before we come to a conclusion. Reading from the book The Five Books of Moses, Genesis 1:5 is translated, God called the Light: Day! and the Darkness he called Night! There was SETTING, there was DAWNING: one Day. (p.13). Commenting in his notes on this verse, the author states, SETTING.....DAWNING: The Heb. terms erev and boker are rather more specific than the usual evening and morning. Elsewhere I have used SUNSET and DAYBREAK. (p.13). Since Morning is generally mentioned before EVENING as noted earlier, and the primary meaning of Morning is DAWNING or DAYBREAK as confirmed by Jacob when he wrestled until the BREAKING OF THE DAY and we saw that the DAY BREAKETH when the SUN ROSE UPON HIM (Gen. 32: 24,26,31), it stands to reason that the natural Day begins in the MORNING at about the time when the SUN BEGINS TO RISE. I believe that you will come to a similar conclusion when you put the many scriptures together that will be provided for you. Since Evening is generally mentioned AFTER MORNING, and the primary meaning is SETTING or SUNSET (NEVER New Day, Next Day, Daybreak, etc--Mark 1:32), it stands to reason that Evening is at the END of the day (while still part of the day) as we saw by the examples from New Testament writers and Jesus Christ Himself. One of the best definitions of a Day that I found that was not a word for word definition from scripture can be uncovered on page 475 in The Jewish Encyclopedia. I used part of this definition before. DAY (Hebrew, yom): In the Bible, the SEASON OF LIGHT (Gen. 1:5), LASTING FROM DAWN (LIT. THE RISING OF THE MORNING) TO THE COMING FORTH OF THE STARS . As you can see, even though Genesis 1:5 is used as an example, this definition shows that a DAY IN THE BIBLE BEGINS AT DAWN AND ENDS AT DARK. In Job 38:4-11, God communicates the following to Job: (4) Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth?declare, if thou hast understanding. (5) Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or who hath stretched the line upon it? (6) Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? or who laid the corner stone thereof; (7) When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy? (8) Or who shut up the sea with doors, when it brake forth, as if it had issued out of the womb? (9) When I made the cloud the garment thereof, and thick darkness a swaddlingband for it, (10) And brake up for it my decreed place, and set bars and doors, (11) And said, Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further: and here shall thy proud waves be stayed?... Throughout these verses we see that God is the one who laid the foundations of the earth. And in verse 12 God says: (12) Hast thou commanded the morning since thy days; and caused the dayspring to know his place;... The primary meaning of the word morning (as defined by Strongs) used in verse 12, is: “1242 boqer bo-ker... properly, dawn (as the break of day)... This is the same word for morning used in Genesis 1:5. Dayspringis the second important word that God uses in verse 12. Eastons Bible Dictionary defines dayspring as: “the dawn of the morning; daybreak..â€ﾝ Now, if we compare Genesis 1:1-5 to Job 38:4-12, we see that “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth“ and He “laid the foundations of the earth. In both scenarios we find God laying down the foundations of the earth. In both cases, He is speaking. And both times He uses the word morning which means “dawn (as the break of day). And He clarifies what He means by calling this morning period the dayspring (obviously the spring of day), which means “the dawn of the morning; daybreak..â€ﾝ Carefully note, since God only asks Job about the morning (dawn daybreak) and not a full day, evening is not mentioned at all. Yes dawn was the start of a day in the foundations or beginning of the earth. And it still is today. In the very same book of Genesis (Chapter 32, as mentioned earlier), Jacob rose at night (V:22). in verse 24, ...Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until THE BREAKING OF THE DAY (or until the coming up of DAWN ---from the book The Five Books of Moses, p. 155). Verse 26 reads: And let me go, for THE DAY BREAKETH... (or for DAWN has come up--The Five Books of Moses, p.155). The word for day found in verses 24 and 26 of Genesis Chapter 32 is the very same word found in Job 38:12, and is translated there as dayspring. Earlier I stated that THE ORDER FOUND IN AN EXPRESSION IS NOT NECESSARILY THE ORDER FOUND IN THE ACTUAL EVENT. Here are some other examples that I have found. The very first verse of the Bible says, In the beginning God created the HEAVEN and the EARTH. (Gen. 1:1). So did God create the Heaven before the Earth? Genesis 2:4 states, These are the generations of the Heavens and of the Earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made the EARTH and the HEAVENS. Here we find that God made the EARTH and the HEAVENS. This reverses the order found in Genesis 1:1. So did God create the Earth or the Heavens first? Obviously, we need to search the scriptures to find the answer. We cannot come to a proper conclusion based on these 2 scriptures alone. If we do not look at the whole picture and accept a partial picture instead, it can lead us to a wrong conclusion. For an example, Genesis 8:22 States: While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease. Notice that summer is mentioned before winter. That makes sense. But then cold is mentioned before heat. Should we deduce from the above information based on the order of the words mentioned that summer is cold and winter is heat? If it was my desire to further prove that summer was cold I could use the first part of Proverbs 26:1 which states: As snow in summer, and as rain in harvest... Now, if we only look at the one and a half scriptures that I used, we must conclude that summer is cold and winter is hot. We must come to this conclusion if we simply accept the order in which the words are given as the actual order that the events take place. Obviously this 1-1/2 scripture conclusion is totally unnatural and yet it is the same line of reasoning that many of us used when we concluded that a day begins at evening. Throughout the Bible the expressions DAY AND NIGHT and NIGHT AND DAY are found. Although we have seen the day reckoned the same in both the Old and New Testaments, some commentators believe the day was reckoned in different ways depending on what Biblical period we are in. One reason is because day is mentioned before night in some places and night is mentioned before day in others. Is this belief correct? Solomon in a single prayer uses BOTH of the expressions NIGHT AND DAY (1Kings 8:29) and DAY AND NIGHT (1Kings 8:59). Obviously the order in which Day and Night are given does not necessarily tell us when a day begins. By my count (which may not be exact), I found that the expression Night and Day is listed about 21 times, including phrases like, all of the night and all of the day. The exact phrase Night and Day is used about 4 times in the Old Testament and 9 times in the New Testament. The expression Day and Night is used about 57 times, including phrases such as, all of the day and all of the night. The exact phrase Day and Night is used about 21 times in the Old Testament and 7 times in the New Testament. Solomon was NOT confused when he used the expressions Night and Day and Day and Night in the same prayer. He was simply using an expression. He was NOT trying to define when a day begins. He left that definition to God. What have we been taught that the second half of Genesis 1:5 says? We have been taught that it says, From even UNTO even was the first day. Notice that the expression used here, Evening AND Morning is NOT a FROM and TO Phrase like it IS with the Sabbath in Leviticus 23:32, which specifically says FROM EVEN UNTO EVEN. Genesis 1:5 speaks of TWO PERIODS OF TIME (Evening AND Morning) and they are Both called DAY (LIGHT). That is why DARKNESS/NIGHT are Not mentioned. This phrase does NOT include the NIGHT SEASON. A similar expression is found in Psalm 55:17 where we find David saying, EVENING, and MORNING, and at NOON will I pray... Every commentator that I have read states that David prayed 3 TIMES A DAY. None of them state that he prayed 24 HOURS A DAY. Why? Because these are 3 different periods in a day. This is NOT a FROM and TO phrase. In 1 Samuel 17:16, we find Goliath presenting himself for 40 days, Morning AND Evening to Israel. Clearly, he did not stand there for 40 consecutive 24 HOUR periods. He appeared before Israel at 2 different periods every day (Morning and Evening). In Exodus 18:13 we find that the ...people stood by Moses FROM THE MORNING UNTO THE EVENING. Now that is a FROM and TO situation. David is speaking of 3 separate periods each day when he prayed. Goliath appeared at 2 different periods every day and God is speaking of 2 different periods within the same day when He says ...the Evening AND the Morning... in Genesis 1:5. And both periods are considered LIGHT. Some scholars believe that the days of the creation account extended from MORNING to morning and assume that God created during the DAYLIGHT HOURS before the Evening. This view is supported by the Jewish understanding of a day as the PERIOD OF DAYLIGHT (see John 9:4; cf. Gen. 1:5). OTHERS support the opposite viewpoint by citing the recurring phrase there was evening and there was morning, one day (Gen. 1:5; cf. 8,13,19,23,31)... (The Eerdmans Bible Dictionary, p. 266). As you can see there is disagreement among scholars on when the day begins and ends. I believe that I have shown that Genesis 1:5 does NOT say from even UNTO even, nor does it say from morning UNTO morning. The fact is a 24 hour period consists of the 2 seasons of DAY and NIGHT, NOT the Evening and the Morning which God simply calls DAY (LIGHT).
Posted on: Fri, 04 Jul 2014 06:26:06 +0000
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