Starting of the day : The darkness [night]:
by Daniel de Caussin
Lev.23:32
It shall be unto you a Sabbath of rest, and ye shall afflict your souls: in the ninth
day of the month at even, from even unto even, shall ye celebrate your Sabbath
Exodus 12: 18
In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at even, ye shall eat
unleavened bread, until the one and twentieth day of the month at even.
The creation started with complete darkness. Gen. 1:1-2
And the earth became without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of
the deep. And the Spirit of Elohim moved upon the face of the waters.
Night is important for Yahuwah, see Job 12:22;
He discovereth deep things out of darkness, and bringeth out to light
the shadow of death.
Yahuwah dwells in darkness,
Ex. 20:21 And the people stood afar off, and Moses drew near unto the thick
darkness where Elohim was.
1 King. 8:12 Then spake Solomon, YHWH said that he would dwell in thick
darkness.
Psalm 18:11 He made darkness his secret place; his pavilion round about him
were dark waters and thick clouds of the skies.
2Sa 22:10 He bowed the heavens also, and came down; and darkness was under
his feet.
2Sa 22:12 And he made darkness pavilions round about him, dark waters, and
thick clouds of the skies.
2 Ch. 6:1 Then said Solomon, YHWH hath said that he would dwell in the
thick darkness.
Psa. 97:2 Clouds and darkness are round about him: righteousness and judgment
are the habitation of his throne.
The covenant with Abram was made in the dark:
Gen. 15:17 And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and it was dark,
behold a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that passed between those pieces.
Here is how I feel on the topic of when a day begins
The following Scriptures define when the span of the 7 days of Matsah commence and end in the evening:
Exo 12:15: “‘Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. Indeed on the first day you cause leaven to cease from your houses. For whoever eats leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that being shall be cut off from Yisrael.’”
Exo 12:18: “‘In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, in the evening, you shall eat unleavened bread until the twenty-first day of the month in the evening.’”
Counting the 7 days on your fingers, you see that it begins at the end of the 14th day in the evening, and extends to the 21st day in the evening. “Seven days” are clearly on exhibit here; but if anyone knows something the rest of us don’t, please share it so we can all agree.
The children of Yisrael left Mitsrayim at night, and we see it was “on the same day” in the text:
Exo 12:51: “And it came to be on that same day that Yahuah brought the children of Yisrael out of the land of Mitsrayim according to their divisions.”
The Passover was slain on the 14th between the evenings (late in the day), and its blood placed on the doorways. After sunset it was the 15th, the first day of Matsah; the lamb was roasted and eaten, and at midnight the first-born were slain, and the children went out of the land at night.
The deliverance occurred at night, and it is a night to be observed for this reason:
Exo 12:42: “It is a night to be observed unto Yahuah for bringing them out of the land of Mitsrayim. This night is unto Yahuah, to be observed by all the children of Yisrael throughout their generations.”
Exo 12:18: “‘In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, in the evening, you shall eat unleavened bread until the twenty-first day of the month in the evening.’”
Every Dayspringer agrees with the following text, but they accept it only as an exception:
Lev 23:27-32:
“On the tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement. It shall be a set-apart gathering for you. And you shall afflict your beings, and shall bring an offering made by fire to Yahuah.
And you do no work on that same day, for it is the Day of Atonement, to make atonement for you before Yahuah your Elohim.
For any being who is not afflicted on that same day, he shall be cut off from his people.
And any being who does any work on that same day, that being I shall destroy from the midst of his people.
You do no work – a law forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings.
It is a Sabbath of rest to you, and you shall afflict your beings.
On the ninth day of the month at evening, from evening to evening, you observe your Sabbath.”
This is the same kind of description given (above) for the way the 7 days of Matsah are observed.
When Yahuah summed-up the work He performed on the First Day of Creation, most of us see a completely different thing than the Dayspringers:
Gen 1:5: “And Elohim called the light ‘day’ and the darkness He called ‘night.’
And there came to be evening and there came to be morning, the first day.”
Neh. 13:21 specifies closing the gates as it grew dark before the Sabbath (a whole 12 hours before it supposedly arrived?).
Right-ruling is established by taking a matter like this to the whole body, and as Yahusha is in His body, He will make a ruling on it.
The wrinkles we are seeing being ironed-out are part of the restoration to the Covenant, but the goal must be love.
A small number of Natsarim follow the teaching that a “day” begins at sunrise, while the vast majority follow the pattern seen in the “older brother”, the Yahudim, where the day begins at evening, or sunset. For those who begin to observe Sabbath at sunrise, the night part of the “day” is not considered to be a portion of the Sabbath, or any other “day” for that matter. They feel no work can be done on any night (and explain how the ancients didn’t have electricity). Yahusha made a figurative statement describing “night” and “work”:
John/Yahuchanon 9:4: “It is necessary for Me to work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day – night is coming, when no one is able to work.” They seem to overlook the figurative meaning of Yahusha’s words, taking them literally. He also once asked,
Joh 11:9, 10: “Yahusha answered, ‘Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.’”
Does one day out of the year begin at a different time than all the other days as some believe?
The following verses describe the “Fast” (referenced also at Acts 27:9). Some have been taught weekly Sabbaths, and days in general, begin at sunrise.
Is this really true, when there are clearly some “days” that begin with the sun setting?
Lev 23:27-32:
“On the tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement. It shall be a set-apart gathering for you. And you shall afflict your beings, and shall bring an offering made by fire to Yahuah.
And you do no work on that same day, for it is the Day of Atonement, to make atonement for you before Yahuah your Elohim.
For any being who is not afflicted on that same day, he shall be cut off from his people.
And any being who does any work on that same day, that being I shall destroy from the midst of his people.
You do no work – a law forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings.
It is a Sabbath of rest to you, and you shall afflict your beings.
On the ninth day of the month at evening, from evening to evening, you observe your Sabbath.”
According to the conventional “wisdom” of those who adhere to the sunrise-to-sunset observance of a “day”, discounting the “night” from what they define as a “day”, we have a clearly defined period of 24 hours described as “from evening to evening, you observe your Sabbath”.
For all the rest of us who already understand that the 10th day begins at evening, as does the 11th day, and the 12th day, this verse is not that exceptional to understand. Yahuah made it crystal-clear for everyone to see and obey. He even opens with the words “On the tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement.” The Hebrew word “YOM” (day) offers a variety of applications. A day can mean 12 hours, the “warm” part when the sun is up; it can also mean 24 hours, spanning evening-to-evening (but never sunrise-to-sunrise). Also, “day” can refer to an indeterminate period of time, as in the “Day of Yahuah”. Prophetic phrasing such as “in that day” also covers a period of time, even years, since the Hebrew word for “day” is very versatile.
Those who have chosen to follow the erroneous teaching that a “day” is to be strictly interpreted as when the sun is up are following an Islamic pattern. During the Islamic fast of Ramadan, food may be eaten during the night, but not while the sun is up. Similarly, those who only observe their weekly Sabbath during the daylight hours, share this pattern with the Muslims. This is not, nor ever has been, a practice of the tribes of Yisrael.
Evening-to-evening is not the exception, it’s the rule. False teaching is overcome by the Word of Truth. The Truth does not change, nor does the day, week, or year. Over the past decade, Lunar Sabbathers have appeared and attempt to change the week; but it is like any other false doctrine, the main focus of what the adherents teach and spend their time explaining. No man can bend what Yahuah has made straight. He is not an Elohim of confusion, where one day out of a year happens to begin at a different time than other days.
AT CREATION:
Gen 1:5: “And Elohim called the light ‘day’ and the darkness He called ‘night.’ And there came to be evening and there came to be morning, the first day.” The “first day” contained both evening (first), then morning. The first day was made up of both. Yahuah didn’t begin creation with the words, “Let there be light”, but had created the “heavens and the Earth”, and darkness was upon the face of the deep as He hovered above the surface of the waters. Creation began with darkness, and in the midst of the First Day, He spoke light into existence.
The phrase “and it was night” in the following text refutes the theory that no business was ever conducted after dark, yet the followers of Yahusha supposed that Yahudah (Judas) was going on an errand because he was the keeper of the money bag:
Joh 13:27-30: “And after the piece of bread, Satan entered into him.
יהושע, therefore, said to him, ‘What you do, do quickly.’
But no one at the table knew why He said this to him,
for some were supposing, because Yahudah had the bag, that יהושע was saying to him, ‘Buy what we need for the festival,’ or that he should give somewhat to the poor.
So, having received the piece of bread, he then went out straightaway, and it was night.”
It’s vital that we don’t take statements like “are there not twelve hours in a day?” to build a case against when a day begins and ends. Yahusha was referring to the “12 hours” of light which most people understand is the time for working, and the other is for resting.
Yahusha was making a point about the “Light” we walk in and illustrated how difficult it would become as the darkness of this world was growing nearer.
He illustrated His point using a 12-hour “day” in a metaphorical way, but we miss what He was pointing out if we focus on the literal.
The figurative objective of His statement is what He wants us to focus on. If a wise man points to something in the distance, and the fool only looks at the finger of the wise man, he will not see the objective.
NehemYah 13:19 clearly indicates the gates of the city were to be closed “as it began to be dark before the Sabbath”:
Neh 13:15-21: “In those days I saw in Yahudah those treading wine presses on the Sabbath, and bringing in sheaves, and loading donkeys with wine, grapes, and figs, and all kinds of burdens, which they brought into Yerushalayim on the Sabbath day. So I warned them on the day they sold food.
And men of Tsor dwelt there, bringing in fish and all kinds of goods, and sold them on the Sabbath to the children of Yahudah, and in Yerushalayim.
Then I contended with the nobles of Yahudah, and said to them, ‘What evil matter is this that you are doing, profaning the Sabbath day?
Did not your fathers do the same so that our Elohim brought all this evil on us and on this city? Yet you bring added wrath on Yisrael by profaning the Sabbath.’
And it came to be, at the gates of Yerushalayim, as it began to be dark before the Sabbath, that I commanded the gates to be shut, and commanded that they should not be opened till after the Sabbath.
We also take note of the haste to get Yahusha off the stake as the “High Sabbath” approached. Surely, reading this, no one gets the impression the night had passed and morning was about to dawn:
Joh 19:31: “Therefore, since it was the Preparation Day, that the bodies should not remain on the stake on the Sabbath – for that Sabbath was a high one – the Yahudim asked Pilate to have their legs broken, and that they be taken away.”
Verse 19:42 continues with this same idea.
The 14th day of the sun was about to end, and the 15th, the High Sabbath of Matsah, was beginning at sunset.
They were in a rush, and the empty tomb was in a nearby garden, very close to where Yahusha had been impaled, so they made haste to take Yahusha down and get Him into the tomb. They would not have been in a serious hurry if they’d had all night, as they could have used torchlight very easily.
Let’s not spread guile, but rather seek the reuniting of the two sticks,
and learn how to love one another without envy, strife, and accepting false teachings.
Pro 14:15: “The simple believes every word, but the clever one watches his step.”
We are facing turbulent times where few Torah teachers adhere to the principles of Yahuah’s intentions, but instead twist His words to mean what they want them to say. Yahusha is our Head, and He guides us in His ways to keep us from stumbling.
Jud 1:17-19: “But you, beloved ones, remember the words spoken before by the emissaries of our Master יהושע Messiah,
because they told you that there would be mockers in the last time who would walk according to their own wicked lusts.
These are the ones who cause divisions, not having the Spirit.
千玉 Shalom John 12:36 “While you have the light, believe in the light, so that you become sons of light.” These words יהושע spoke, and went off and was hidden from them.
千玉 Eph 5:8 For you were once darkness,1 but now you are light in the Master. Walk as children of light – Footnote: 1See 2:2, 4:18, Col. 3:7.
千玉 Regarding Shabbat, due to not all the places has sunset every day, i take the guideline shown as below…Obviously at night we rest, so how we conduct our activities of the 12 hours every day with the day light should be our most concerned! And as we start the new day, remember to start it fresh and find Shalom and Rest in our MessiYah along with the sun goes down Eph 4:26 Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath!
2 Comments
Rich Broughton: The day of atonement is a sunset to Sunset holiday. Now by going to genesis you have to be careful. I have heard the night and day argument. This is the way I read it. In the beginning YHVH created the aleph tav. So he creates words and put power to them. In those days the universe was filled with his shekina glory so everything was light. Then rebellion happened and hasatan came and corrupted it and made it dark. Then after moving across the waters and purifying the water the earth was baptisms and a cleansing happened which brought about the light again. So you have light and dark and light again. This all happens without the sun and stars, because they were created on they 4th day. Now if you go to blue letter biblet and do a search of scriptural references of light and dark, there are as many as dark to light. Yeshua told his disciples, is there not a 12 hours in a day? Enoch lays out a priestly calendar in the book of Enoch chapters 71-82 roughly. In jubilees it talks about foreseeing people following a change in times and eating of blood. If I was near my computer I could give you exact chapters. I believe if one studies tge tabernaclear in the wilderness you will find its laid out like a huge sundial. The entrance always faced the east. The four major tribes were staged at 12, 3,6,9… and they had tworked tribes a piece staged slightly right and left behind them. I believe Ezekiel 1 is also a sundial which represents the tribe of Isreal as well.
2014年12月27日
Michael Reidy-Crofts: Shalom Rich thank you for your response i agree there is something in the Tabernacle in the wilderness and Ezekiel’s wheel however still not convinced the Father’s Calender is complete yet…. We are seeing bits of truth here and there but still not conclusive and in accordance with his word….. There is too much evidence to show a day is sunrise to sunrise and Day of Atonement and Passover are the exceptions….
2014年12月27日 2:02 ·
Wayne Thibodeaux: Using the calendar of our Father we see that Passover is the second Sabbath of the new year. By the instructions for Passover and following the rules of the Sabbath we see that the new day begins at nightfall.
The Passover lamb was to be slain between the evenings, or after sunset. However, it was not to be roasted by fire until after dark. This follows the rules of the Sabbath that no fire was to be kindled on the Sabbath and no cooking was to be done on the sabbath. By waiting until after dark a new day had begun, the fiteenth day or first day of Unleavened Bread.
2014年12月27日 3:17 ·
Tyler Daniel Cellini: And there was EVENING and there was MORNING; the first DAY.
There’s a reason why it’s in this order.
2014年12月27日 5:45 ·
Kimberly Weick: We have been programmed to believe that a 24 hour period is considered a ‘day’ but this is false. This is why Yonah was in the fish for ‘3 days AND 3 nights’. And so when scheduling a vacation, one must specify days AND nights when making hotel arrangements. Messiah even says ‘Are there not 12 hours in a day’? So, thus, there was evening AND there was morning(this is the FIRST day). Night and day are separate just as light and dark are separate. When light comes, darkness is over and when DAY comes night is over but it is a 24 hour period…not a 24 hour day.
2014年12月27日 8:03
Tyler Daniel Cellini: This is interesting. I forgot YaHuWSHuWa said that about the twelve hours… interesting.
2014年12月27日 8:01
Rich Broughton: Look I believe In a 360 day plus 4 marker days. But they day and night thing I believe light was present first. Dark means absence of light. The universe the Most High is light in the beginning it wasn’t a absent because he was first, who created all things. Nehemiah made this tradition by closing down the gates the night before sabbath so merchants wouldn’t be in the city to sell their goods on sabbath. I believe it was Enoch who spoke of an 12 hour day 6 hour night=18 hours that would still be 1440 minutes of time. We have 12 + 12= 24 (possessively) hours that can be broke down into 1440 minutes of time. So that means 1440÷18= 80 units of time. And 1440÷24= 60 UNITS of time. And thank you Kimberly because I don’t believe anyone read that statement of the 12 hrs when I posted it.
2014年12月27日 9:21
Rich Broughton Michael: go to YouTube and look up planet7x channel. Not mine but found it very interesting
2014年12月27日 9:46
Rich Broughton: I like to think of evening as like a separator or a marker for the days
2014年12月27日 9:48
Bill Condoleon: as far i can see the day starts at sunrise,and the instructions for the day of atonement actually prove the day starts at sunrise.
2014年12月27日 16:05
Tyler Daniel Cellini: And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the RUWach of Alahaym moved upon the face of the waters.
And Alahaym said, Let there be light: and there was light.
Genesis 1:2-3
Technically darkness: was first, because light had not yet been made.
2014年12月28日 4:59
Bill Condoleon: it was the pharisees who instituded the evening start to the day,the saduucees and the essenes both started the day at sunrise.if you read exodus 16 the account of the manna ,it is clear the day starts at sunrise.
2014年12月28日 6:20 ·
Tyler Daniel Cellini: The Pharisees and the Sadducees also insulted and delivered up the King unto death. Their opinion doesn’t matter to me whatsoever.
2014年12月28日 6:24
Bill Condoleon: what it goes to show is that at the time of YAHUSHA there where two different ways of starting the day,not all jews kept evening to evening.infact the essenes also kept the solar calendar not a lunar calendar.
2014年12月28日 6:27
Bill Condoleon: also lets remember our sins killed Yahusha Ha Mashiach ,he had to die because we are all sinners,we are just as responsible for His death.
2014年12月28日 6:35
Michael Reidy-Crofts and YAHUSHA said beware of the Levin of the Pharisees and Sadducees….. You are on the money Bill and many more scriptures are witness to sunrise to sunrise……..
2014年12月28日 10:11
Rich Broughton: Are we not to be like the Thessalonians and be children of the light and day…. that’s good enough for me
2014年12月28日 16:04
Rich BroughtonL Watch “WARNING: 17 Great-Signs In The Heavens – Pt 1 of 5″ on YouTube
WARNING: 17 Great-Signs In The Heavens – Pt 1 of 5: http://youtu.be/zhg8tDVnQrY
2014年12月28日 16:31
John Unsworth: Why is the day of atonement an exception? 1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters. 3 Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light day, and the darkness He called night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day. Fist darkness then light one day! The darkness was before the light…”The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep”….then God said “let there be light”…so there was darkness then light…one day…The first day began with darkness then God created light..one day…what do you think…?
Wayne Thibodeaux: Look at the instructions for passover and the rules of the Sabbath. They both agree that the new day begins at nightfall.
John Unsworth: Kimberly weick There are two senses of ‘day’ in scripture, one a period as we see in Genesis, and one that represents light as we see in the verses you have quoted
Night and Day
Why does a day begin at sunset? The first clue is found in Genesis 1:5
… It became evening, and then it became the morrow. This was the first day of a multitude of days.
The stars or Angels are the leaders of the Calendar. They have been given a job, and by oath keep it in perfect and constant order. The Stars enter first.
Another clue comes from Enoch.
Enoch 82:8 He has power over night and day in the heaven to cause the light to give light to men from the sun, moon, and stars, and all the powers of the heaven, which revolve in their circular chariots. 9 These are the orders of the stars, which set in their places, and in their seasons, festivals, and months. 10 And these are the names of those who lead them, who watch that they enter at their times, in their orders, in their seasons, in their months, in their periods of dominion, and in their positions. 11 Their four leaders who divide the four parts of the year enter first; and after them the twelve leaders of the orders who divide the months; and for the three hundred and sixty days there are heads over thousands who divide the days; and for the four intercalary days there are the leaders which divide the four parts of the year.
Woe
Yet another clue comes in the form of a Great Woe. Woe to us! This is clear! Do not to use the “day”, or sun rising, as the start of the day. By using the sunrise as the start of the day, this is following the lead of the Treacherous Watchers!
Enoch 82:4 Blessed are all the righteous. Blessed are all those who walk in the way of righteousness and do not as the sinners, the treacherous Watchers in the reckoning of all their days in which the sun traverses the heaven entering into and departing from the gates for thirty days with the heads of thousands of the order of the stars, together with the four which are intercalated which divide the four portions of the year, which lead them and enter with them four days.
How do we know the First Day and Duration of a Year?
According to Enoch, a year has 364 days. Each year has 52 Sabbaths, every year for all generations. There are no leap days, or leap months. Other calendars count every day of the year. This requires the use of leap days as in a Gregorian calendar, leap months as in a Jewish Lunar-solar calendar.
The way to handle the fact that a year has 365.2422 days in a year is this difference of 1.2422 days is just waited out and not counted. We wait and observe the Spring Equinox to occur. The ancients required a constellation and the point where the sun rose through the constellation during the last observed equinox. When the Spring Equinox is confirmed, that evening at sunset the new year begins. The two witnesses to this first day are the Stars and the Sun.
You can see how the stars are used at Enoch 74:
12 The sun and the stars bring in all the years exactly, so that they do not advance or delay their position by a single day unto eternity, but complete the years with perfect justice in 364 days.
13 In three solar [and Sidereal] years there are 1,092 days [3 times 364], and in five years 1,820 days [5 times 364], and in eight years there are 2,912 days [8 times 364].
Thirteen weeks for each season and Four seasons, and a total of 52 weeks in the Year
Jubilee 6:23 And on the new moon of the first month, and on the new moon of the fourth month, and on the new moon of the seventh month, and on the new moon of the tenth month are the days of remembrance, and the days of the seasons in the four divisions of the year. These are written and ordained 24 as a testimony forever. 29 … each had thirteen weeks; from one to another (passed) their memorial, from the first to the second, and from the second to the third, and from the 30 third to the fourth. And all the days of the commandment will be two and fifty weeks of days, and (these will make) the entire year complete.
Another point to bring up from Enoch 74 is the fact that two methods of ensuring accuracy were employed. The solar and sidereal cycles are similar in duration. At Enoch 74:12 The Sun and the stars bring in all the years exactly, so that they do not advance or delay their position by a single day unto eternity, but complete the years with perfect justice in 364 days. A principle in the Hebrew language is that when you double something you are emphasizing its importance. So here we see that two methods are used for verification. This is because of the importance of this ancient calendar.
The Stars have a cycle used for calendars and time keeping. Their cycle is called a Sidereal cycle. The length of a sidereal day is 23.93446 hours. The length of a sidereal year is 365.25 days. Sidereal time is calculated from watching the stars and their relation to the revolution of the earth on its axis and the rotation of earth around the sun. Notice that the times for the day and the year are very similar to that of the solar cycle.
Two witnesses to confirm the first day
The consistency of the star’s location and the sun’s location are used as two witnesses to the first day of the calendar so that we all, from generation to generation, can observe the sabbath on the same seventh day, and the feast days on their appointed days and times.
The Duration of 24 hours
The Earth revolves around its axis at a fairly constant rate. Its rate is affected by earthquakes and other cosmic influences. Nevertheless, it does change, but the change is so small it is almost undetectable. A leap second was added in 1972, and 40 years later one in 2012. This is a testament to Father’s hand in this situation.
What is a Day?
The Hebrew word yom has several meanings. Using a Gesenius, a Benner, and a Klein Lexicon we see these meanings for the word יום: heat, the day, a day, a festival day, time, at that time, then, at some time, at the time in which – as in the word “when”. The definition of this word is important to consider because the word יום is used in Genesis 1:5 to describe the first day. It was called a yom even though the sun was not created. The sun has nothing to do with the usage of this term. The same is true for Genesis 1:8, and 13. In this case the first three days where counted as days. Perhaps by the precision of the earth’s rotation. Yaha’oha was the light that was provided for those three days. His presence was the light source. As we read in the Revelation of John 22:5 And night shall be no more, and they shall have no need of a lamp or the light of the sun, because יהוה Elohim shall give them light. And they shall reign forever and ever.