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 HAS TIME REALLY BEEN LOST?

MICHAEL W. STEVENSON

 

 

 

HAS TIME REALLY BEEN LOST?

MICHAEL W. STEVENSON

 

 

 

 

 

 

This booklet is not to be sold.

It is a free educational service in the public interest,

Published by the Church of God (Sabbath Day)

 

 

 

 

Copyright © 2008 by Church of God (Sabbath Day)

All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America

 

 

Unless otherwise indicated, Scriptures in this booklet are taken from the King James Version of the Holy Bible.

 

 

Are we able to truly know if time has been LOST? YES we can truly know—we can be sure—you yourself can PROVE—which day off the week today is the very same seventh day that God had made holy and rested upon, finishing all his creation! Here is the very PRECIOUS TRUTH of it—seven very real proofs—each very conclusive and very irrefutable. YES! Now you can truly be SURE of these truths!

GRANTED, the Bible does indeed declare that the SEVENTH day is the SABBATH of the Lord. It does indeed show to us that God did, indeed, at the very creation of all things, make the Sabbath day a holy time, and that yes, he indeed commanded for man to keep it and observe it!

 

The Very Questions

 

But, just how can we really know, today, which day is the very same day that is the true seventh day that God had blessed and had made holy at the creation of the earth?

            Has time not been lost? Has the calendar not ever been changed? Were there not ten days that had been dropped out of it at one time?

            What about living on a round earth? Does not one either “gain a day” or “lose a day” as we are told when we travel around the world?

            And how about the long day of Joshua’s and did that not change the weekly cycle of things?

            How can we really know that the very name “Saturday,” which is a pagan name, was even on the seventh day of the week according to the Hebrew calendar?

            To each of these questions we see that there is a definite answer—and many lines of real and true proof! God’s Word does tell us to “PROVE ALL THINGS” and so we must need banish all the prejudices, letting us throw out preconceived or past opinions on the very subject, and studying this with a clear and opened up mind that is free from judgments. Let us therefore investigate together this awesome truth.

 

Calendar Changes of the Past

 

The calendar that we now use, a Roman calendar, has been truly changed, but that change had never once broken the weekly cycle.

            Prior to the change, it was known as the Julian calendar, because it had come a the time of Julius Caesar in 45 B.C.—several years before Christ himself was even born. The one change that was truly ordered by Pope Gregory, and since then has been named the Gregorian calendar.

            The Julian calendar was imperfect—it had inserted leap years too frequently on the calendar. During 45 B.C., they had thought the year was exactly 365¼ days long and thus, to remedy the situation, an extra fourth day each year had been added to a day of the month of February every four years. But it had later been found that the year was 12 minutes and 14 seconds shorter that this. So, in consequence to this, by Pope Gregory’s time, the calendar had drifted ten days away from the seasons and thus, the Spring equinox, in consequence, had fallen on March 11 instead of March 21.

            Thus, to correct this problem, ten days had to be dropped from the very calendar. But they were dropped only from the number of days in the month, not actually from the number of days in the week. Thus, a man named Lilius had proposed the method that was adopted in making the change. We learn from the Catholic Encyclopedia that under an article entitled “Lilius” that: “Thus, every imaginable proposition was made, only one idea was never mentioned, viz., the abandonment of the seven-day week.”—Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol. 9, p. 251

            We further read in the same set of encyclopedias, that under the article “Chronology”: “It is to be noted that in the Christian period, the order of days in the week has never been interrupted. Thus when Gregory XIII had reformed the calendar in 1582, Thursday, October 4 was followed by Friday October 15. Thus, in England, in 1752, Wednesday, September 2 would have been followed by Thursday, September 14.”—Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol. 3, p. 740

            Since the Catholics had changed the calendar, the Catholic Encyclopedia is perhaps the best authority on this we have for the very history.

            So that the read can clearly understand it and see just how it worked out on the Calendar, we have thus reproduced the actual calendar. The change had been made in Spain, Portugal, and Italy in 1583. Thus, here is the very calendar for October, 1582 that you will see.

            For this is going to be an important visual that you will need so that you can understand this very truth.

OCTOBER       1582

 

 

SEPTEMBER       1752

 

 

            You will notice on this calendar how it dropped out ten days. One day was the 4^th and the very next was the 15^th of October. But, the 4^th was on a Thursday and then the next day was indeed Friday.

            To continue to make it plainer, the 29^th of September in that same year was a Sabbath, or Saturday. The 30^th was Sunday. The 1^st of October was on a Monday while the 2^nd was Tuesday and the 3^rd was Wednesday with the 4^th being on a Thursday and then we find that the next day was Friday, but it was not at all the 5^th: it had actually jumped to the 15^th. And the following day again was Saturday, the 16^th. Actually Saturday, the 16^th was just one week of seven days after the previous Saturday, the 29^th day of September. There had been exactly seven days in that week, seven sunsets and this was seven between one Sabbath and the next. Thus the calendar change did not at all change the weekly Sabbath, or the succession of the days of the week!

            Now the truth of this knowledge also needs to show that the British had refused to even change the calendar at the time that the pope had ordered it. They had continued to use the old Julian calendar until 1752. While their days of the week had been different, yet, their very days of the week had not been different; they remained the same as in Rome. Those who had observed the Sabbath in England kept the same Saturday, thus it was called Saturday in Rome. Those who had observed Sunday also kept the same day, both in Rome where the calendar had been changed and also in London where it had not been changed.

            Now the English countries had all changed the calendar in 1752, thus by that time, it was needful for 11 days to be dropped out. The change was made in September as we now can see:

 

 

            Now in Russia, the calendar had never been changed just until recent history, in our own lifetime. Consequently, in 1907, the days that we called the 14^th of August, the Russians called the 1^st of August. Our calendars had 13 days apart. Yet, in both nations, we called the same day Saturday. In both nations, Saturday feel exactly on the same seventh day of the week! The calendar has since been changed in Russia and still their Saturday is our Saturday—their Sunday is our Sunday! For true references about this, please see the article we quoted from the Catholic Encyclopedia on “Chronology.”

            Thus, we see clearly that the calendar that has been in effect since 45 B.C.—the one prior to the birth of Christ, proves to us that there have NEVER been any changes in the weekly cycle from the time of Christ, even until now. That Saturday of day is still the same seventh day of the week that it was in Christ’s time. We can, therefore be truly positive that we keep the same Sabbath day that Christ also had kept and observed, thus showing to us an example—the same day he said he was Lord of (Mark 2:28)!

 

Gaining or Losing a Day While Traveling Around the World

 

Now, we need to consider the argument that “we gain a day” or “lost a day” depending on which day we are traveling while going around the world.

            Have you ever truly wondered about how Jonah had come to be out of a wild sea, so that he could be swallowed by the great fish? Jonah was commanded of God to perform a certain task. But, Jonah did not want to obey God. So, he had embarked on a ship, in an attempt to escape “from the presence of the Lord.” Read Jonah 1:1-3. Now wasn’t it crazy and ridiculous for Jonah to even think that by journeying away from home on a boat, that he would be able to escape the very command from God?

            In reality, we today have many Jonahs in the world. They all try to tell us that a certain command, something that God has proclaimed by his own voice to all of HIS people—those who follow him, cannot really be obeyed if we embark on a boat and travel far away from home, either east or west. It is the command which says: “REMEMBER THE SABBATH day to KEEP IT HOLY…the SEVENTH DAY is the SABBATH of the Lord thy God.” So, if that is a command, then did God so much complicate this very command that it would require someone who is an astronomer to really tell us how we are supposed to obey that very command?

            It might seem to a lot of people who do not stop to deeply think that we perhaps did loose a day if we were travel west around the world—or gained one if we would travel to the east. But, this loss or gain is apparently not real and is apparently a false teaching that is derived in the minds of man.

            Think, if you would, what would happen if it was so. Imagine two friends who one is traveling to the west around the world while the other is going eastward. If one has really lost one day while the other has gained one day, then after one such journey, it would become obvious that the two are now days different now in their ages if their ages were the same. If they then took enough trips at the same age, one would become older and could become old enough to be the other friends’ father. This is ridiculous, but it does show the point of the very matter.

            When one travels, a person’s days are not of even length. The man who therefore travels from Los Angeles to New York in one day by an airplane finds that this particular day, for him, is counted as only 21 hours because the sun sets three hours earlier in New York than it does in Los Angeles and therefore, there is a three hours difference in time between these two cities. If the man returns, also by plane, he will find that his day on the return trip is computed 27 hours.

            So, let’s say he leaves Los Angeles at 5 A.M., and he arrives in New York exactly twelve hours later, his watch will show 5 P.M., but all watches and clocks will show in New York that it is 8 P.M. To compute this time as others do, he is going to have set his watch three hours ahead to show the New York time.

            Now, if he were to continue to travel around the world, he would thus have to keep changing his watch until he finally added 24 hours to his own watch, by the time therefore that he came back to Los Angeles. But, did he really add a day to his own life? Of course he didn’t. The only change that was even made is in the way that man counts time. This is merely a trick argument that is often made to confuse people—justifying them to disobey the very commands of God! Sin is the very transgression of the Law (1 John 3:4)—and the wages therefore of sin is death (Roman 6:23)!

 

Therefore, What Is A Day?

 

The biblical definition of a “day” is not 24 hours of a man-made watch, but that period of time from sunset to sunset. A day is never truly measured by the journey of the earth plus our journey on the earth.

            We find in the Bible how the Sabbath is to truly be observed and that it is from “even unto even”—Leviticus 23:32. A day therefore ends and another one begins when the sun sets! (See Mark 1:32; Luke 4:40). See any real and true encyclopedia. History proves to us that it always is custom to end and begin days at sunset until just a few hundred years after Jesus Christ!

            We do indeed live on a round earth. A day is truly measured by the revolution of the earth on its very axis, in relation to the sun. Since the Sabbath begins and ends at sunset, we can therefore observe it here when the sun sets here. But the sun sets three hours earlier in New York than it does on the Pacific coast, hence, when the Sabbath-keepers there being their Sabbath three hours earlier than those on the west, then does that take away from the Sabbath? No! In London, the Sabbath begins nine hours earlier than in the Western USA if it is kept in accordance to God’s instructions for the Sabbath.

            So, as a result, the very answer to all of this is, we keep the day when the day comes to us! So, we keep the Sabbath according to as it comes to us to keep it.

            Jerusalem is the city by which is God’s very headquarters for the earth. That is, where Jesus kept the Sabbath and we know he had it RIGHT! Authorities believe further that it was by God’s own guidance that men were caused to set the international dateline (where, because of a round earth turning on its axis, a day must be dropped or added in computation), in the middle of the very Pacific where it thus affects virtually no one and almost is exactly the opposite of Jerusalem.

            As time is now computed, those who keep the Sabbath the world over keep the same Sabbath when it comes to them, not before and not after! That is therefore and always has been on the SEVENTH DAY of the week—AT JERUSALEM! But, for the simple reason that the Bible tells us that we must being our Sabbath at SUNSET and the sun does not set at the same time in certain parts of the world, the holy hours of the Sabbath being, in China numerous hours earlier than in Jerusalem—and thus, in America, several hours later than in Jerusalem. But, beginning in the middle of the Pacific, halfway around the world from Jerusalem, ALL PEOPLE EVERYWHERE therefore keep the same day as the day comes to them and that is kept at Jerusalem! Sunday observers have no trouble at all figuring when their Sunday comes to them, anywhere they are on the earth. We cannot run away from this truth by getting on any boat at all!

           

What about Joshua’s Long Day?

 

Sill, there is another argument that we must address. The long day of Joshua when the sun had stood still for “about a whole day” is figured around in a manner to show that Sunday is the seventh day of the week.

            Let’s see the biblical account of what is found in Joshua 10:12-14: “Then spake Joshua to the Lord…and he said in the sight of Israel, Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon; and thou, moon in the valley of Ajalon. And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed…and hasted not to go down about a whole day.”

            Based upon this very interesting argument, accompanied by a diagram, which is supposed to show us that today Sunday is actually the very continuation of the seventh day from creation. The gist of this argument is this:

            “Joshua showed that the sun and the moon were within a few minutes of going into conjunction in the position he placed them when he issued his command. Thus, the week contained a twenty-four hour period without a corresponding sunrise and sunset…Professor Totten has clearly demonstrated the conjunction was due to occur on Tuesday at 11:13 A.M…According to the accompanying diagram it is apparent that this particular week, from Sabbath day to Sabbath day, saw only six sunrises and six sunsets, though it contained the nominal seven times twenty-four hour periods…Numbering according to twenty-four hour periods it is seen that Saturday is the seventh day. If however, we number our days according to the sunsets, then it is clear that Sunday becomes the seventh day from creation.”

 

Week of 7 x 24 Hours

 

            Surely therefore, you can clearly see what is wrong with this very argument, and this very diagram. First off, it is stated that “according to the accompanying diagram, it is apparent that this particular week, from Sabbath day to Sabbath day, saw only six sunrises and sunsets.” That is true, according to the diagram, but not according to God’s Word! The diagram is therefore in error with God’s very WORD!

            What thus, is wrong? It is this: God says to us that “from even unto even s hall ye celebrate your Sabbath.” The days of the week are counted from SUNSET to SUNSET as to the measuring of time in the first chapter of Genesis! It is stated that each day that “the evening and the morning were the FIRST DAY”—“the second” and so forth! Nowhere does it say that “The first 24 hours was the first day! And the next 24 hours was the second day,” etc. God never has counted days according to the way we count days, he always counts days according to the setting of the sun!

            Thus, in this very man-made diagram, the man who designed it called this long day of Joshua’s two days—Tuesday and Wednesday. But, is this in accordance to what the Bible teaches? Does the Bible really call this long day two days? Let’s notice, in speaking of that very thing, that in Joshua, we read “And there was no DAY like it before or after it.”—Joshua 10:14 So therefore, the Bible is calling it a DAY—just one DAY! But in order to twist it all around to conform to the broad and most popular way of observing a pagan day, this one day has to be counted as two days. But, that is contrary to the scriptures—the basis from which the Church of God gets the doctrines that we get!

            Next comes the argument that ingeniously confuses the reader between numbering in accord to 24-hour periods, and numbering according to the sunsets. The author of this argument further used 24-hour periods to make Friday appear to be Saturday—the actual 6^th day of the week appearing to be Saturday the 7^th day. Then he further turns it around and then re-numbers the same days as to sunsets to make Sunday come out to be the 7^th day.

            This is clever, yet is designed to be a deception. We cannot at all figure days in the terms of 24-hour periods. A day is SUNSET!

            Thus, Joshua’s long day was approximately 48 hours of a manmade watch, but it was NOT one day and the Bible only calls it a DAY, and specifically mentions that it was DIFFERENT than any other days—“there was NO DAY”—not “days” but “day”—“like it before or after it.” Thus, we see that “it” is singular. So therefore, we are surely proving to you that it was JUST ONE DAY! God says that it is JUST ONE DAY in his OWN WORD! God’s week is not made of seven 24-hour periods of time, but of seven days that are counted from sunset to sunset. A diagram shows this as it actually is—according to the very Bible and God’s reasoning of time as follows:

 

 

Week of seven days, counting from SUNSETS

 

 

A Trick that is To Deceive!

 

Have you noticed the trick that was employed as a way to deceive in the first diagram? “Joshua’s Long Day,” as it is plainly labeled in the diagram—a day—one single day—is marked as “Tuesday” and “Wednesday”—as if it were really two days. Yet, in the bottom diagram, it is numbered the 3^rd and the 4^th days of the week—TWO DAYS! Then at the top of the diagram, it is re-numbered a different way—as ONE DAY, the “3^rd” day of the week. Thus, the day that is called “Saturday” is arrived at by counting Joshua’s long day as two days. Thus, figuring that way, this day is really made the 7^th day of the week. Then, in the top line by re-numbering this day as one day—the 3^rd day of the week—the day he has called Thursday is really the 4^th day, Friday and is the 5^th day, and Saturday is the 6^th day of the week. This, of course then brings Sunday out the 7^th day.

            Now clearly, this “Joshua’s Long Day” cannot be two days—the 3^rd and 4^th days of the week—as it is numbered below and also at the same time being just one day, the 3^rd day, as is figured in the top column.

            Which is it, the 3^rd day of the week—Tuesday, or is it the 3^rd and the 4^th days—Tuesday and Wednesday? Since the Bible clearly shows that it is a “day” and not two days, then it is only ONE DAY! Tuesday, the 3^rd day of the week, as shown in the correct diagram—the second diagram therefore being correct!

            The error that is in the first diagram is thus in calling this day one day in one place, and two days another time. Actually, it clearly was just one day, Tuesday, the 3^rd day of the week. The day that he has labeled Saturday, therefore is NOT Saturday at all—but is really and in reality Friday, the 6^th day of the week. Thus, on the seventh day it should not be called Sunday as in his diagram, but Saturday, as in the second diagram. Therefore, that is exactly how it was counted in history! It is surely plain that this first diagram is a clear deception and is not truth!

            But now, finally to prove the whole thing, we need to remember this: To establish which day is the TRUE Sabbath—the true seventh day of the very week after creation, which God had created as a HOLY TIME, we need to therefore go back no further than the time of Jesus Christ himself!

            For, if this Joshua’s long day argument is true, then Jesus had profaned the Sabbath that God has sanctified, and observed the 6^th day of the week and not the true 7^th day. So, then, if we accuse Jesus of that, we accuse him of committing a sin, for is the transgression of God’s laws and no will argue that the Sabbath point of the law was abolished by the time of Christ! If he has sinned, then we do not have any hope at all!

            But, we clearly know for a fact that Jesus himself knew which day was the right day. He was the CREATOR, and the LORD OF THAT DAY (Mark 2:27-28)! He had kept the true Sabbath, and the calendar records shows that the Saturday of today is the same seventh day that Jesus had kept. Thus, certainly showing to us that we should also want to keep the same day that Jesus had kept!

           

Was Time Ever Lost From Adam to Moses?

 

Another point we need to make is that Adam was already alive and created when sunset had come the sixth day of creation—WHEN GOD rested from his work! Adam knew which was the seventh day, Jesus named Abel “righteous” (Matt. 23:35), so therefore, if Abel was “righteous”, then he had observed the Sabbath. Enoch had “walked with God,” so therefore, Enoch had kept the Sabbath—and he was “translated” less than a hundred years before Noah! They knew what day was the real seventh day all through this time period. Adam had lived for 243 with Methuselah, and until Lamech who was 56 years of age. These men all knew what day was the true SEVENTH DAY! Methuselah had lived for 600 years with Noah and Lamech had lived with Noah for 595 years! They all knew the SEVENTH DAY!

            Truly, Noah had learned from them and from others, which was the same seventh day! And Noah also kept it because he was a “preacher of righteousness” (2 Peter 2:5)—and “all thy commandments are righteousness” (Psalm 119:172).

            Therefore, we further see that Shem was righteous and he had lived until Abraham was 150 years old. Noah also had died about two years before Abraham was born and Abraham had kept God’s very Sabbath (Genesis 18:19; 26:5). So also did his son Isaac, his grandson Jacob, and his great grandson Joseph—all of whom had kept the commandments of God (Psalm 119:172). No, time has never been lost down to the time of Joseph!

            But, after the death of Joseph, the children of Israel (Jacob) became slaves in Egypt and therefore, “they did set over them taskmasters to afflict them with their burdens…And the Egyptians made the children of Israel to serve with rigour: And they made their lives bitter with hard bondage…”—Exodus 1:11, 13-14

            The Egyptians never did observe the Sabbath. They even lashed the Israelites in their slave-labor, on the Sabbaths the same as other days. So these Israelites, for some 150 to 175 years—several generations—were not permitted to observe the Sabbath. They had no priesthood. There were no Sabbath or religious services. Probably there was no religious teaching—certainly none which was allowed on any organized scale.

            Further more, we find that there was no Bible—no authoritative written record of God’s instructions or of God’s law! The Bible says that “The Word of the Eternal endureth FOREVER.” If any inspired Word of God had been written before to Moses, then it obviously would be in evidence today. The first Scriptures that were written by Moses, after the Israelites had been delivered out from their Egyptian slavery, as we find were written by Moses, so nothing existed as we know before Moses.

            Therefore, the generations of Israelites which Moses had brought forth from Egypt had had no religious instructions or training. Thus, they probably never even knew about the Sabbath. Time could have been lost—to them. But, if so, God revealed it by real and amazing miracles!

 

The Creation Sabbath Revealed to Israel

 

In Moses’ day, God had revealed the true creation Sabbath to all of those who were in Israel, in the raining of manna that came from heaven to them in the wilderness.

            At the wilderness of Sin, two weeks before they came to Sinai, they had complained that they lacked food. The Lord said, “Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you…that I may prove them, whether they will walk in MY LAW or no.”

            This has to do with whether we are going to keep God’s law or whether we are going to disobey and thus, sin. Moses and Aaron had told the people “At even [sunset], then ye shall know that the Lord hath brought you out from the land of Egypt: and in the morning, then ye shall see the glory of the Lord.”

            And Moses spake unto Aaron, Say unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, Come near before the Lord…and it came to pass, as Aaron spake unto the whole congregation of the children of Israel, that they looked toward the wilderness, and behold, the glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud…And it came to pass that at even [dusk], the quails came up, and covered the camp, and in the morning dew lay round about the host”—Exodus 16:4-13.

            Notice that there was a religious assembly on this very day, and the GLORY of the Lord appeared. The quail did not come up until the sun had set. Why? Because this had been a SABBATH day and at sunset, when it was over—the quails had then come and the people were given privilege to go and gather in food to eat!

            The next morning, the manna had fallen and thus, this was the first day of the week. If they had tried to keep over any manna until the next day, it bred worms and stank bad (v.20). But, on the sixth day, (v22), twice as much had to be gathered. Then, that sixth day, the Lord plainly declared “Tomorrow is the rest of the HOLY SABBATH unto the Lord”—v.23 Thus, they had kept it over and on this day, it did not breed worms nor did it stink since it was a Sabbath!

            However, on the seventh day, some of the people must have thought that time had become lost. They were like a lot of people today who were not sure which day was the Sabbath, or whether it even makes any difference. Yet, they went to gather on the seventh day (v.27)—and they found nothing! On this day, God never sent any manna! So, by three miracles, God had showed to us which day was the TRUE CREATION SABBATH!

            Time, therefore, could not have been mixed up or even lost under this strict Mosaic regime between then and the time of Christ. Thus, we have clearly shown that the long day of Joshua was just one day, and it did not change the very reckoning of time in any way. If it had at all, then as pointed out, Christ had kept the very wrong day! And so, we come to the time of Christ, knowing that time was not lost up to that point.

 

The Proof of the Jewish People

 

Now, if we are convinced that Jesus had set us a right example, and that he had kept the right seventh day, we then need have no further difficulty in understanding this!

            Notice, however, that the day that Jesus kept as the Sabbath was as his custom (Luke 4:16) and that it was the same day that all the Jews had kept, for they were holding their religious service in the synagogue—vs. 17, 20!

            So, about 43 years after this, the Jewish people had been driven into every nation on the earth! From that time until now, they have been separated, scattered into all nations. Through the Middle Ages, the Jews in China did not have any way of communicating with the Jews in Africa; the Jews in Europe with those in other parts of the world. Yet, today, with communication restored over every part of the entire globe, we do not find the Jews being mixed up!

            If time has been lost, then the Jews of one part of the world would not be observing one day, and the Jews of another part would not be observing that same day, but they would all be observing differing days. But, everywhere—in every nation on earth, we truly find that the Jewish people have been keeping the same, true identical day—the day that we call Saturday—the TRUE seventh day of the week!

            The Jewish people are the miracle of all of human history—for they are another real proof that we have NOT ever lost the Sabbath. Ask any Jewish person today if he has lost his Sabbath! Why, such an idea would be complete nonsense to him. He is not in any doubt at all!

 

The Church as Proof

 

Another line of proof! We now have a history of the TRUE Church of God through all the centuries from Christ until our day. It has always been a SABBATH-KEEPING CHURCH!

            Through all the Middle Ages, just as is mentioned in Revelation 12:6, this Church had to flee into the wilderness, clear beyond the very jurisdiction of the Roman Empire, dominated by the Roman Catholic Church.

            Then in 363 A.D., the Roman Catholics passed Decree of the Council of Laodicea, pronouncing upon anyone who kept the Sabbath, a death sentence. Many true Christians were then killed for keeping the seventh day Sabbath. When men were willing to give their lives in order to keep God’s very commands, do you then think that they could lose track of the right day?

            And then coming down to our day, we find this Church, the TRUE CHRISTIAN CHURCH, keeping the very day that we call Saturday—the very same day that the Jewish people have always been keeping, right on down through each year from Christ until now!

 

Now the Proof of Reason!

 

And still, another proof! Why should time be lost? How could it be lost? Stop and think about it! One person might, perhaps, wake up some Saturday morning and think to themselves that it was Friday, and thus, wait until Sunday to keep the Sabbath. But, for time to be lost, NOT ONLY one man, but all people in his town or city—every person in his or her state, province, county, or the whole world—each person everywhere—would thus have to wake up the same morning with the same idea! Do you think that this is possible? Yet, you believe that this has happened if you really believe that time has really been lost!

 

What the Astronomers Say

 

Now we finally come to the scientific community of astronomers. We now give a quote from the official government statements to the League of Nations, as was published on August 17, 1926, in an official League document.

            The government of Finland had presented this observation from one of its own astronomers: “The reform [calendar reform before the League] would break the division of the week, which has been followed for thousands of years, and therefore has been hallowed by immemorial use.”

            Next, France presented the following from two of its astronomers: “One essential point is that of the continuity of the week…a continuity which has existed for so many centuries.” “The continuity of the week…is without doubt the most ancient scientific institution bequeathed to us by antiquity.” Stated Prof. D. Eginitis, director of the Observatory at Athens, and a member of the League Committee, “The continuity of the week…has crossed the centuries, and all known calendars, still intact.”

            This, thus could go on and on. But this is now enough. We have given clear roof of history, the proof of the calendar, the proof of the Jewish people, the proof of the martyrs of the true Church, the proof of reason, the testimony of astronomers.

            And now, we might also add as real proof as any is that of the Roman Catholic Church, which through the centuries has preserved its Sunday intact, as the day following the seventh-day Sabbath as observed by Jesus and his very apostles. The Catholic priest today is no more in doubt about his own Sunday being the true first day of the week, than is the Jew is about God’s own Sabbath!

            Would God set apart a certain day, placing upon it his own blessing (Genesis 2:1-3), making it holy, commanding that it be kept and observed as a HOLY time forever, and then let that time become lost so that we cannot tell when we are to keep it?

            What about time being lost? If so, then you and I are both lost, for it is sin to profane God’s own Sabbath! That ist he 4^th point of the very Law!

            Sin is transgressing the law (1 John 3:4) and if we break any of the commandments, then we are sinners (James 2:8-11). The very last words of Jesus say: “Blessed are they that do his (His Father’s) Commandments, that they may have right to be the TREE OF LIFE”—Revelation 22:14

            Now, you can clearly see the PRECIOUS TRUTH OF TIME NOT BEING LOST!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Church of God (Sabbath Day) has other interesting pieces of literature for FREE! None of the literature of the Church is ever charged for.

Who We Are: This literature is published by the Church of God (Sabbath Day) which has ministers and congregations throughout much of the world. We can trace our history to the Church that Jesus had founded in the early first century. We follow the very same teachings, doctrines, and practices that was established then. Our commission is to proclaim the Gospel of the coming Kingdom of God to all the world, as a witness and to teach all nations to observe whatever Christ had commanded (Matthew 24:14; 28:19-20).

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Counseling Is Available: Jesus has commanded his followers to feed his sheep (John 21:15-17). To help fulfill this very command, the Church of God (Sabbath Day) has congregations throughout the world. In these congregations, believers come together to be instructed from the Scriptures and to fellowship.

 

The Church is committed to understanding and practicing the New Testament Christianity. We desire to share God’s way of life with all who will earnestly seek to worship and follow Jesus Christ.

 

Our ministers therefore are available to counsel and to answer questions and explain the Bible, so if you desire to contact a minister or to visit one of our congregations, feel free to contact us any time.

 

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CHURCH OF GOD (SABBATH DAY)

 

Michael W. Stevenson

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