What day is it?

The early Christians observed the Sabbath on Saturday, but by the first half of the second century an increasing number of Christians would gather for worship on Sunday. Some continued to observe the Sabbath on Saturday, until even the crusader period. The practice was discouraged, but not suppressed. Most Christians today consider Sunday to be the Sabbath day, a holy day and a day of rest and church-attendance. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunday)

I read many articles about this subject, written by different authors from different religious affiliations and backgrounds. They made very good arguments and explanations regarding their beliefs. The purpose of this blog is not to condenm any religious groups and promote one. I believe we are all worthy of God's love and saving grace. It is up to you to decide and be guided by the Holy Spirit. God bless you...

What day is the Biblical Sabbath day?

Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array. By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done (Gen. 2.1-2).

The chronology of the crucifixion, death, and Resurrection of Christ as follows:

Friday, the Day of Preparation: Jesus is crucified with two thieves. From noon to three in the afternoon, a darkness covers the land (Matt. 27:45). Then, "[s]ince it was the Day of Preparation, in order to prevent the bodies from remaining on the cross on the Sabbath . . . the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away" (John 19:31). Then Joseph of Arimathea obtains Jesus’ body and buries it: "It was Preparation Day [that is, the day before the Sabbath]. So as evening approached, Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent member of the Council, who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God, went boldly to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body" (Mark 15:42-43, NIV).

Saturday, the Sabbath: "On the Sabbath they [the women] rested according to the commandment" (Luke 23:56b). Also on this day, "that is, after the Day of Preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate" and asked for a guard to be placed on the tomb (Matt. 27:62).

Sunday, the first day of the week: "Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the sepulcher" and found that Jesus had risen from the dead (Matt. 28:1).

(http://www.catholic.com/thisrock/1999/9903chap.asp)

Ok.. let's start with the what the Bible tells us about the Sabbath- Seventh day (Saturday):

*this is not the complete list*

Exodus 20:8

The fourth commandment

"Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of the Lord your God; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you,"

Jesus

Matthew 12:8

For the Son of man is Lord even of the Sabbath day.

Luke 4:16

And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read.

Jesus' followers

Luke 23:56

And they returned, and prepared spices and ointments; and rested the sabbath day according to the commandment.

Paul

Acts 17:2

And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three sabbath days reasoned with them out of the scriptures.

Acts 13:14

But when they departed from Perga,they came to Antioch in Pisidia, and went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and sat down.

Acts 13:44

And the next sabbath say came almost the whole city together to hear the word of God.

And now what about the First day(Sunday) Sabbath:

In the Bible:

The phrase First day of the week is mentioned 8 times but NOT one Passage in the Scriptures is found that says the First day became a Sabbath, rest day, day of worship or holy day...

1. Matthew 28:1[ The Resurrection ] After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.Matthew 28:1-3 (in Context) Matthew 28 (Whole Chapter)

2. Mark 16:2Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tombMark 16:1-3 (in Context) Mark 16 (Whole Chapter)

3. Mark 16:9[ ((The most reliable early manuscripts and other ancient witnesses do not have Mark 16:9-20.)) ] When Jesus rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had driven seven demons.Mark 16:8-10 (in Context) Mark 16 (Whole Chapter)

4. Luke 24:1[ The Resurrection ] On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb.Luke 24:1-3 (in Context) Luke 24 (Whole Chapter)

5. John 20:1[ The Empty Tomb ] Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance.John 20:1-3 (in Context) John 20 (Whole Chapter)

6. John 20:19[ Jesus Appears to His Disciples ] On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you!"John 20:18-20 (in Context) John 20 (Whole Chapter)

7. Acts 20:7[ Eutychus Raised From the Dead at Troas ] On the first day of the week we came together to break bread. Paul spoke to the people and, because he intended to leave the next day, kept on talking until midnight.Acts 20:6-8 (in Context) Acts 20 (Whole Chapter)

8. 1 Corinthians 16:2On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income, saving it up, so that when I come no collections will have to be made.1 Corinthians 16:1-3 (in Context) 1 Corinthians 16 (Whole Chapter)

(http://www.biblegateway.com/quicksearch/?quicksearch=first+day+of+the+week)

New International Version (NIV)

Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society

And there is the Lord's Day found in Revelation 1:10.. Apostle John while in the exile in the island of Patmos Wrote:

"I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet"

The New Bible Dictionary says regarding the term, ‘The Lord’s Day’ in Revelation 1:10: "This is the first extant occurrence in Christian literature of heµ kyriakeµ heµmera. The adjectival construction suggests that it was a formal designation of the church’s worship day. As such it certainly appears early in the 2nd century (Ignatius, Epistle to the Magnesians, 1. 67).

(http://www.carm.org/questions/sabbath.htm)

CHRISTIAN APOLOGETICS AND RESEARCH MINISTRY

The answer:

Some believe that "the Lord's day" mentioned in Revelation 1:10 refers to Sunday. However, when we read the passage, we find no hint of it being either a Sunday or a worship day. John here simply states that he "was in the Spirit on the Lord's day." Although it is true that eventually the term "Lord's day" came to be used for Sunday, no evidence indicates this was the case until about a century after the book of Revelation was written![11] Most pointedly of all, there is neither prior nor contemporary evidence that Sunday had achieved in New Testament times a status that would have caused it to be called "Lord's day." Another day--the seventh-day Sabbath--had, of course, been the Lord's holy day from antiquity (see Isaiah 58:13)

(http://www.biblehistory.com/The%20Origin%20of%20Sunday%20Worship.html)

Copyright 1978 by Kenneth A. Strand

Change in the days of the week.

I was walking in a bookstore with a friend one day, and he showed me a small book. Wrote by a Pastor. It explained each of the Ten Commandments, and it is good to discuss such a very interesting subject and its application in our time. However he showed me the 4th commandment. It made me wonder a little bit then. I saw the book again recently and read it again. He laid out many good arguments, and he has a point. But i want to know if it is true. It made me think... should we make our own schedule for our day of rest and worship? where did the calendar came from? who invented it? Is it accurate? what day is the first day and the seventh day? DID THE ORDER OF THE DAYS OF THE WEEK REALLY CHANGED?

I would just like to share with you some things I found out while doing a little research about this topic. These are articles I found in some websites (links are found after some paragraphs so you can check it also).
Hope this can help.. :)



Humans have measured time since, well, time immemorial. The most natural kind of year is marked by the coming and going of the seasons. Ancient people needed to know when to expect the cold winter season, and when to plant and harvest. By keeping calendars they could prepare for the future. Today we still define our year based on the seasons

The Lunar Calendar
Some of the earliest calendars used the moon to measure the passage of time. A year was twelve lunar months (moon-ths). Each lunar month was the time from one full moon to the next, about 29.5306 days. This made the lunar calendar year 354.3672 days long. This was not very accurate for keeping track of the seasons, since it is about 365.2422 days from the first day of spring (called the vernal equinox) to the next first day of spring. This meant the vernal equinox was almost 11 days earlier each year.

The Julian Calendar
Julius Caesar
In ancient Rome the lunar calendar was constantly being adjusted, adding days here and there to bring the seasons back into sync. Some corrupt politicians and officials even added days to the calendar to lengthen their stay in office, or for financial gain. Then in 45 B.C. Roman Emperor Julius Caesar decreed that a new calendar, called the Julian calendar, would be adopted. The astronomer Sosigenes designed the calendar to strictly follow the seasons, not the moon. Each year had 365 days, with an extra "leap" day added every 4 years. This made the length of a Julian year 365.25 days, not far from the actual value of 365.2422 days.

The Gregorian Calendar
Pope Gregory
But the average length of the Julian year was a bit too long, by some 11 minutes. Slowly the first day of spring shifted to earlier and earlier dates, at the rate of about eight days every thousand years. In 1582 Pope Gregory XIII, advised by the astronomer Christopher Clavius, decreed that the date of the vernal equinox, which had crept forward to March 11, should revert to March 21, its date at the time of the Council of Nicaea in A.D. 325. It was at the Council of Nicaea that the church decided Easter would be celebrated on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the vernal equinox. By bringing the calendar back into sync, Easter would be celebrated closer to its original date.
The only way to make such a change was to skip ten days; and so in Catholic countries the day after October 4, 1582, was October 15, 1582. Many non-Catholic nations, however, did not go along with this jump. England and the British colonies held out until 1752 when September 2nd was followed by September 14th. Many citizens thought they were being cheated out of 11 days of life and in the resultant riots a number of people were killed!
The change brought the first day of spring back to March 21st, but it was necessary to prevent future date-jumping. So the new Gregorian calendar was shortened a tiny amount. A leap day was still added every four years, but with a special rule about century-end years: only century-end years divisible by 400 would be leap years. Therefore, the years 1800, 1900, and 2100 have no February 29th, but 2000 and 2400 do. This makes the average length of the Gregorian year 365.2424 days, less than half a minute off each year. This will produce an error of only one day every 3000 years.(http://liftoff.msfc.nasa.gov/news/2000/news-newyear.asp)

Questions and Answers

Where did the days of the week got its name?

The ancients carefully observed the motions of the stars, moon, and sun. Because the paths of the planets across the sky were different from the orderly, unchanging procession of the stars, they were thought to have special powers and were named after mythological gods and goddesses: Mercury, Venus, Mars, Saturn, and Jupiter. These planets, along with the sun and moon, then lent their names to the days of the week.
The English names for the days of the week are derived from Anglo-Saxon, and some of the names of the gods and goddesses are different than the Greek and Roman. The god Tiw was the equivalent of Mars, Woden of Mercury, Thor of Jupiter, and Frigga of Venus. (http://liftoff.msfc.nasa.gov/academy/time/weekdays.html)

also check this link:
http://webexhibits.org/calendars/week-connotations.html


Has the 7-Day Week Cycle Ever Been Interrupted?
There is no record of the 7-day week cycle ever having been broken. Calendar changes and reform have never interrupted the 7-day cycles. It very likely that the week cycles have run uninterrupted at least since the days of Moses (c. 1400 B.C.E.), possibly even longer.
Some sources claim that the ancient Jews used a calendar in which an extra Sabbath was occasionally introduced. But this is probably not true.

Which Day is the Day of Rest?

For the Jews, the Sabbath (Saturday) is the day of rest and worship. On this day God rested after creating the world.

Most Christians have made Sunday their day of rest and worship, because Jesus rose from the dead on a Sunday.

Muslims use Friday as their day of rest and worship. The Qur'an calls Friday a holy day, the "king of days."

What Is the First Day of the Week?

The Bible clearly makes the Sabbath the last day of the week, but does not share how that corresponds to our 7 day week. Yet through extra-biblical sources it is possible to determine that the Sabbath at the time of Christ corresponds to our current 'Saturday.' Therefore it is common Jewish and Christian practice to regard Sunday as the first day of the week (as is also evident from the Portuguese names for the week days).

However, the fact that, for example, Russian uses the name "second" for Tuesday, indicates that some nations regard Monday as the first day.In international standard ISO-8601 the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has decreed that Monday shall be the first day of the week. (http://webexhibits.org/calendars/week.html)

"the early Church commemorated Christ's resurrection on Sunday, the first day of the week, because that was the day Christ arose" (Mark 16:9, see also Mark 16:2 and Luke 24:1). (http://www.catholic.com/thisrock/1993/9312chap.asp)

When is Easter?

The calculation of Easter is complicated because it is linked to (an inaccurate version of) the Hebrew calendar. Jesus was crucified immediately before the Jewish Passover, which is a celebration of the Exodus from Egypt under Moses. Celebration of Passover started on the 15th day of the (spring) month of Nisan. Jewish months start when the moon is new, therefore the 15th day of the month must be immediately after a full moon. It was therefore decided to make Easter Sunday the first Sunday after the first full moon after vernal equinox. Or more precisely: Easter Sunday is the first Sunday after the "official" full moon on or after the "official" vernal equinox. The official vernal equinox is always 21 March. The official full moon may differ from the real full moon by one or two days. (Note, however, that historically, some countries have used the real (astronomical) full moon instead of the official one when calculating Easter. This was the case, for example, of the German Protestant states, which used the astronomical full moon in the years 1700-1776. A similar practice was used in Sweden in the years 1740-1844 and in Denmark in the 1700s.) The full moon that precedes Easter is called the Paschal full moon.
(http://webexhibits.org/calendars/calendar-christian-easter.html)


Exodus 20:8-11


(8) "Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. (9) Six days you shall labor and do all your work, (10) but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates. (11) For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. (New International Version)