When does a day begin and end? Some have said that society decides when a day begins and ends, so for the U.S. that would be midnight. Others like the Jews hold the Talmud’s position that a day begins and ends at sunset. Some have said that it really does not matter.
When considering the day that God raised Christ, many have wondered on what day the Romans crucified Christ, what day did God raise Him, and at what time of the day was Jesus resurrected. The day of assembly is the day of Christ’s resurrection. However. some infer that Saturday night is the beginning of the first day of the week reasoning that a day begins and ends at sunset. This infers that those assembling and partaking of the Lord’s Supper on Sunday evening are actually meeting on the second day of the week. Luke reported, “And upon the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul discoursed with them, intending to depart on the morrow; and prolonged his speech until midnight” (Acts 20:7 ASV). Which evening is the first day of the week? This study will examine these inferences made upon Scripture.
The following Scriptures present that a day begins at sunrise:
- Matthew 28:1 reveals, “Now late on the sabbath day, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre” (ASV 1901, emp. added).
- Mark 16:1–2 depicts, “And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, bought spices, that they might come and anoint him. And very early on the first day of the week, they come to the tomb when the sun was risen.”
- How could it be “very early” if the day started at sunset or midnight?
Genesis 1 shows that the day consisting of day and night is one that starts at sunrise.
- Genesis 1:5 reports, “And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day” (cf. Gen 1:8, 13, 19, 23, 31).
- The Hebrew word for morning is boqer, which means “sunrise,” “end of night,” “coming of daylight,” and “beginning of day.” Therefore, the order of the day consists of sunset and sunrise as the scripture says, “And there was evening (sunset) and there was morning (sunrise), one day.” Sunrise started a new day. Each day consisted of an evening and then a morning. The complete day does not end at sunset or midnight, but the day started at dawn in the beginning. That is the biblical day from Genesis.
These passages confirm the day starts before sunset when a day goes on through sunset into the evening:
- Matthew 26:17 notes, “Now on the first day of unleavened bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying, ‘Where will you that we make ready for you to eat the Passover?’” (cf. Mark 14:12).
- This is the first day of unleavened bread when Jesus sent Peter and John to prepare for the Passover although Israel roasted the Passover lamb at twilight and ate it in the night. As in the Old Testament, the first day of the Passover Feast included the day and the preceding evening as the disciples came to the guest room on the first day of Passover before twilight — that is before sunset.
- Mark 4:35 depicts, “And on that day, when evening was come, he said unto them, ‘Let us go over unto the other side.'”
- Again, the evening followed daylight of that day.
- John 20:19 tells, “When therefore it was evening [nightfall, Greek: opsios], on that day, the first day of the week, and when thedoorswere shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said unto them, ‘Peace be unto you.'”
- “On that day” is referring to the day when Christ rose on the morning of the first day of the week and now it is the same day called “evening.” According to this passage, the first day of the week was the day and then the night.
Did not Mary Magdalene come unto Jesus’s tomb on the first day of the week when it was dark according to John 20:1?
- John 20:1 states, “Now on the first day of the week comes Mary Magdalene early, while it was yet dark, unto the tomb, and sees the stone taken away from the tomb.”
- If it was dark without the sun raised, then John 20:1 would disprove or present another understanding that a day starts on another time other than sunrise in contradiction to the scriptures above. However, John 20:19 states, “When therefore it was evening, on that day, the first day of the week, and when the doors were shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said unto them, ‘Peace be unto you.'” How could it be evening on the first day of the week, the very day that Jesus rose, if a day started at sunset and the day would have changed? Furthermore, Luke 24:1 depicted that the women came at early dawn, so though it was dark though it was not night. In mountainous areas, the sun can dawn and there is still darkness in the vales where the elevations block the sun’s light in some places. This is especially true where people have carved a tomb from rock. Darkness after dawn is evidently possible, and reasonable to those of who go out early.
Did not all Jews at this time believe that day was from sunset to sunset?
- No. The idea that a day was sunset to sunset came from man’s tradition and thinking based upon Leviticus 23:32 where the Day of Atonement was held on the tenth day of the seventh month, but the Sabbath began on the ninth because the Sabbath was kept on this occasion from evening unto evening. Even in this passage from Leviticus, one can easily notice the reference to two different days, the ninth day and the tenth day of the month. Leviticus 23:32 speaks of the sunset of the ninth day being the time to start the Sabbath for the tenth day. Evidently, a day did not start at sunset and this was a special occasion of simply keeping the high sabbath for the Day of Atonement. The regular Mosaic day began with the rise of day through the setting of the evening (Gen 1: Exod 12:18; 18:13: Lev 6:20).
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The Breath of God 
Alden,
You’re 2nd and 4th comment are way off the subject of the Sabbath and the 1st day of the week. I had to delete the last one. You may post it on your own blog. We’ve already established that most people do not believe that the 1st day is the Sabbath.
Why are you using the Catholic church as a source if you believe that the Roman Catholic church is an anti-Christ? They also claim to have put the New Testament together.
I end our long discussion. You’re welcome to make any final comments.
THE FIRST DAY?
Only you know if you’ll read all this because I doubt that you read my lengthy comparison of Moses’ law vs God’s Law (enough to understand it). 1 Corinthians 7:19 makes a distinction between the Law of Moses & the Law of God, “Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but the keeping of the Commandments of God.” Daniel 7:25, says that Times & Laws will be changed out of Roman arrogance that anything Before Caesar was not worth preserving. The Romans changed B.C. to Before Christ later, but this instead of giving a whole history lesson on how Romans affects our years, months, days (even hours), here’s a summary of the attempted change in Sabbath, Saturn’s day, & Sun’s day..
Christians in Alexandria replace Sabbath with Sunday in 120 A.D.
Justyn Martyr reports on Sunday observance in Rome in 150 A.D.
Elagabalus, emperor of Rome brings Syrian sun worship to Rome 218 to 222 A.D.
Aurelian, emperor of Rome – establishes sun worship as the state religion 270 to 275 A.D.
Council of Laodicea condemns Sabbath observance 343-381 A.D.
Ambrose (Bishop of Milan) observes the Sabbath without fasting 364 A.D.
Pope Gregory I (the Great) identifies Sabbath keepers with the anti-christ 590 to 604 A.D.
The New Advent Catholic online encyclopedia admits to trying to change God’s Law, so if you’re trying to find it in Scripture…give up. In 364 A.D at the Council of Laodicia, the 4th beast thinks to change the 4th Commandment. Cut/paste http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/3806.htm and scroll down to Canon 29:
“Christians must not judaize by resting on the Sabbath, but must work on that day, rather honouring the Lord’s Day; and, if they can, resting then as Christians. But if any shall be found to be judaizers, let them be anathema from Christ.”
The decree below is “the mark of the beast”. Some people, like medical and public workers may work daily, but whether the earnings from Sabbath become tithe (and offering) is between them and God. There is not a shred of Biblical proof of a change in the Sabbath, and the mark of the beast is an attempt to change Sabbath from the 7th day.
Cut/paste http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dies_Natalis_Solis_Invicti#Constantine and look under “Constantine ”.
Constantine decreed (March 7, 321) dies Solis — day of the sun, “Sunday” — as the Roman day of rest [CJ3.12.2]:
“On the venerable day of the Sun let the magistrates and people residing in cities rest, and let all workshops be closed. In the country however persons engaged in agriculture may freely and lawfully continue their pursuits because it often happens that another day is not suitable for grain-sowing or vine planting; lest by neglecting the proper moment for such operations the bounty of heaven should be lost.”
The religion of Sol Invictus continued to be part of the state religion until paganism was abolished by decree of Theodosius I on February 27, 390. Wow!
Compare 2 Thessalonians 2:3,4 to all this proof that the Church of Rome is not only the beast, but the antichrist.
Copy/paste this http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04153a.htm to the New Advent Catholic online encyclopedia, and go to the last to sentences of the 1st paragraph. “The Church, on the other hand, after changing the day of rest from the Jewish Sabbath, or seventh day of the week, to the first, made the Third Commandment refer to Sunday as the day to be kept holy as the Lord’s Day. The Council of Trent (Sess. VI, can. xix) condemns those who deny that the Ten Commandments are binding on Christians.” The institution admits it, so why are you are still in denial? Rome innocently (ignorantly) combined their pagan religion of sun worship (sun, moon, saturn-day) with the religion that they eye-witnessed through Jesus and His followers.
There is so much error here, I don’t know where to begin, but I will start with Hebrews 4. I can’t condemn, & I can’t judge you, or anyone, including myself, but it takes distortion & twisting to exclude the “keeping of a Sabbath” from Hebrews 4:9,10 because it it finalizes Hebrews 3 with the fact that the Sabbath remains. Firstly, the Sabbath is the only Holy Day. Jesus kept, & Paul kept it. No one ever kept the 1st day holy.
Second, you are so close, because even you have said that we are not in that rest yet. Meaning, we are not in paradise. Again, Hebrews 4 is the result of all that’s in Hebrews 3, & the result of disobedience, hardened hearts, & unbelief is the reason why the Sabbath remains. Clear?
Jesus says, “For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. ” Has all been fulfilled yet? Have Heaven & Earth passed yet?
We may carry this discussion over to the new post.
Alden,
As for my morals concerning lying and stealing, I believe these to be wrong since these are condemned in the NT, and not just in the Law of Moses.
Acts 2:46 does say that they broke bread daily, and this is clearly a common meal “breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart”. Still, the Lord’s Supper was for the Assembly (1 Cor. 11:17ff) and that the Assembly was to consist of the whole congregation (1 Cor. 14:23). The Lord’s Supper was not a common meal (1 Cor. 11:21-23). Be aware of the use of the article “the” inference to breaking bread. This breaking of bread in Acts 2:46 is different from “The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ?” (1 Cor. 10:16), which is clearly the Lord’s Supper of 1 Corinthians 11 that Christ instituted the night of His betrayal and He blessed this bread in Luke 24:30 which is called “the breaking of bread” in Luke 24:35, which all occurred on the first day of the week (Luke 24:1). Christ blessed the practice of the Lord’s Supper on the first day of the week. Why? Back to Acts 2:46 being a common meal, see Acts 2:42 speaks of the Lord’s Supper, “And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers”.
The separation between the breaking of bread as the Lord’s Supper and breaking bread as a common is clear in Acts 20 too. Paul broke bread for himself and this breaking of bread is singular (Acts 20:11). This is clearly not the disciples’ breaking the bread in verse 7. This is separate from the disciples’ breaking bread which they regularly did every first day of the week according to Acts 20:7. How do we know that the disciples (all Christians) always assembled every first day of the week to break bread together? They clearly met every first day of the week since the first day is described by Greek word for assembling here in the participle form meaning a practice and in the perfect tense meaning that it had been previous completed before. This is not clearly seen in the common translations of Acts 20:7 where the word “when” is often used to show that this assembling was a perfect participle.
The Assembly was for the Lord’s Supper in 1 Corinthians 11:17ff, and so is the Assembly of Acts 20:7 to break bread. The Assembly not to be forsaken (Heb. 10:25), and the Assembly was kept by Jesus and the congregations on the Lord’s Day when Jesus is in the midst of them (Rev. 1:10, 13; Matt. 18:20). Why did the disciples assemble to break bread on the 1st day if it were not the Lord’s Day? Why did Paul support this regular practice among the disciples? He must have approved the the first day was the Lord’s Day via the Spirit, and this Lord’s Day is the day of the Assembly and the Lord’s Supper. This is what I practice. These are my premises for my conclusion that the Assembly is to break the bread on the Lord’s Day, which must be every first day of the week. For Christ blessed the bread of “the breaking of bread” on the day of His resurrection, which is the first day of the week (Luke 24:1).
This has nothing to do with the Sabbath being changed. I do not believe that it has, but that it is obsolete. The Sabbath is “Saturday”, the 7th day, which I am convinced to be a type for the rest of Christians will have with the Father (Heb. 4:1-11). I find keeping the Sabbath day is a part of the 10 commands. Exodus says “And He wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the Ten Commandments” (Exo. 34:28, also see Deut. 4:13, 9:9, 11). Jeremiah said “Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant” (Jeremiah 31:31). Look further for Jeremiah said, “not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers” Not according to which covenant? Jeremiah says the covenant “in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke” (31:32). Again which covenant is this? Exodus says “And He wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the Ten Commandments” (Exo. 34:28). Christ’s covenant is “not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers”, but “In that He says, ‘A new covenant,’ He has made the first obsolete. Now what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away” (Heb. 8:13). The Old Covenant of the 10 commands with the Sabbath keeping is obsolete and vanishing away in the 1st century. “But if the ministry of death, written and engraved on stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of the glory of his countenance, which glory was passing away, how will the ministry of the Spirit not be more glorious?” (2 Cor. 3:7-8). If I kept the 7th day as the Sabbath rest, then I’d be “a debtor to keep the whole law”, and then I will “become estranged from Christ” and “fallen from grace” (Gal. 5:3-4). I will not be estranged from Christ and fall from His grace nor will I teach my family and my congregation family this.
God bless your heart for you are sincere. Teach me if I wrong and may you have the heart to receive these Scriptures if these are true.
I rest as Jesus did from His work based Hebrews 4 because Jesus rested on the Sabbath at Creation, and while here in the flesh. Now, Acts 2:48 says they broke bread daily, & the fact that the a day is even called Sabbath in Acts should be enough. How do you reason then that it is still a sin to lie if the 10 Commandments are obsolete? Why ask for forgiveness? Is it a sin to steal?
Alden,
You’re right that Jesus kept the Sabbath and He is the Lord of the Sabbath.
I am still not convinced that the 10 commands are not apart of the Old Testament and that therefore the 10 are obsolete too. I am convinced that Paul met on the Sabbath to reason and persuade Jews to Christ (Acts 18:4). I am also convinced that Paul met on the first day of the week when the disciples in congregations assembled to break the bread (Acts 20:7).
The subject of Sabbath, is different than the title of this post though. So yes, the subject has changed repeatedly, and furthermore, my previous post gives more than enough to prove that the 10 Commandments are still valid. Do you follow Laws regarding lying & stealing? How do you reason between adultery & Sabbath?
Do Revelation 12:17 & Revelation 14:12 mention keeping the Commanments of Moses? Answer – No. Keep the Commandments of God.
James 2 mentions the Royal Law, and says, “For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.
Notice Scott, this is present tense and when we say whole law, what law are we talking about?
“For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law.”
So, if you are guilty in one point you are guilty of breaking the law. Scott, it doesn’t matter if you run a stop sign or drive drunk, that is breaking the law. Clearly, there is a law, right?
Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law. Romans 3:31
“So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty. ” James 2:12
Acts 17:2; 18:4:11 say that Paul, as his manner was, meaning he was a Sabbath keeper….every Sabbath…even in 1 area for a 18 months straight. Just as Jesus’ was a Sabbath keeper in Luke 4:16. I have 40 questions about the 1st day, but is it clear that much more is written about what Paul & Jesus preached & did on Sabbath as compared to the 1st day? It’s not even close, & now I gotta sk…do you think we are to be lawless?
Alden,
I haven’t changed the subject though have addressed different specifics that I thought were immediately relevant. If you don’t think a question is relevant, then please neglect it and exclude it from discussion.
The point of our different understandings is now your statement that testaments and covenants are different. In the New Testament, the word for testament and covenant is the same exact word, “diatheikei”, each and every time. There is no other word for testament or covenant. We are dealing with one word. The old testament, which is the covenant of tablets, is obsolete (Heb. 8:7-13). This word is used for the Old Covenant/Testament and the New Covenant/Testament. There is no other that I see. This is especially clear in Hebrews 8:7-13 and its quotation from Jeremiah 31:31-34.
From the list, every single point is an assertion, which is good for a complete interpretation, but it does not aid me in conviction and conclusion. I need premises to reach the conclusion that the Sabbath day must be observed.
There are two striking references to Romans 7 and the law in James 1 & 2. Please, define your points here and establish your premises.
Does Romans 7 say that we are “dead to the law” (7:4) and “have been delivered from the law” (7:6), and that this is the law that says “you shall not covet” (7:7)?
Are “the perfect law of liberty” (James 1:25) the “mirror” (1:23) and “the implanted word, which is able to save your souls” (1:21) the same, and will we be judged by “the law of liberty” (2:12) rather than the “the whole law” (10-11) that includes “the royal law” (2:8) and two of the ten commands?
Does Romans 8:2 show any distinction here since it mentions “the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus” and “the law of sin and death”?
Our discussion should certainly center here on the covenants, testaments, and laws. You establish the 10 and then you will have convinced me to repent.
Thank you for your patience and your discussion.