{"id":420,"date":"2018-02-18T21:53:40","date_gmt":"2018-02-18T21:53:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/publications.cog7.org\/?page_id=420"},"modified":"2022-01-03T22:21:29","modified_gmt":"2022-01-03T22:21:29","slug":"the-weekly-cycle","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/publications.cog7engage.net\/tracts-books\/tracts\/the-sabbath\/the-weekly-cycle\/","title":{"rendered":"The Weekly Cycle"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Click Cover to Download<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Questions about the historical continuity of the <\/b>weekly cycle of seven days are of interest to two religious groups: first, those who observe the seventh day of the week as the Sabbath, and second, those who seek to honor the resurrection of Christ on the first day of the week, calling it \u201cthe Lord\u2019s Day.\u201d<\/p>\n

Christians who observe the Sabbath according to the fourth commandment (Exodus 20:8-11) will want to be assured that the day they observe is actually the seventh day of the week. That is one of the purposes of this study.<\/p>\n

Many denominations do not teach that the fourth commandment requires seventh-day Sabbath observance for Christians. But in their seeking to honor Christ\u2019s resurrection on the first weekday, it is of concern to them to identify which day of the week it is.<\/p>\n

The Church of God (Seventh Day) is confident that observing the commandment to keep the seventh day of the week as the <\/b>Sabbath is God\u2019s will for Christians, and that the day of the week called Saturday is the seventh day, the Sabbath referred to in both Old and New Testaments.<\/p>\n

This question may not seem to be a matter of great concern to those who attach no significance either to the Sabbath or to the first day of the week as a religious observance. The majority of Jews and Christians, however, share a common interest in preserving the weekly cycle without interruption so they can identify their respective days of worship.<\/p>\n

Doubting Continuity<\/b><\/h3>\n

Some find it hard to believe that the seven-day weekly cycle has been maintained for thousands of years. Many are of the opinion that it has not been continued intact over the centuries.<\/p>\n

Some believe that the Sabbath was not observed from creation until Moses and that, therefore, the weekly cycle of Israel\u2019s Sabbathkeeping was not a continuation of unbroken weeks from the beginning.<\/p>\n

Some believe that the Babylonian captivity disrupted the weekly cycle and that the dispersion of the Jews prevented its continuity after Babylon destroyed Jerusalem.<\/p>\n

Some believe that since there were calendar reforms subsequent to Christ\u2019s resurrection, these changes caused the cycle to be interrupted again.<\/p>\n

Some propose that the Bible itself proves that continuity of the weekly cycle was not important to God, because the sun stood still for about a day during the time of Joshua (10:12-14).<\/p>\n

In these various ways, people have concluded that it is impossible \u2014 and thus unimportant \u2014 to know which day of the week is the seventh.<\/p>\n

Miracle of a Day<\/b><\/h3>\n

The assumption that the extra daylight in Joshua\u2019s time confused the calendar ignores the fact that a \u201cday\u201d in the Bible is a night period and the subsequent daylight period. It is from sunset to sunset.<\/p>\n

The assumption also ignores the fact that this <\/b>whole long daylight period is not referred to in the Bible as two days, but as one day: \u201cSo the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and did not hasten to go down for about a whole day. And there has been no day like that, before it or after it\u201d (Joshua 10:13b, 14a).<\/p>\n

The fact is that God continued to hold Israel responsible for Sabbathkeeping as though there had been no long day. The weekly cycle and the Sabbath that Israel observed had God\u2019s sanction, shown by His holding Israel accountable for Sabbathkeeping throughout the Old Testament.<\/p>\n

Miracle of Manna<\/b><\/h3>\n

There is no Bible record of Sabbath observance after its institution at the end of creation week until Israel\u2019s exodus from Egypt. However, just before Moses received the Ten Commandments from God on Mount Sinai, calling for Sabbath observance on the seventh day, God positively identified the seventh day with a miracle.<\/p>\n

The miracle was a food called manna.<\/i> It appeared on the ground on the first six days of the week, with a double portion on the sixth day. Then no manna fell on the Sabbath, the seventh day of the week. If there had been any loss of continuity or identity of the Sabbath from creation until then, God left no doubt about its identity with this forty-year-long miracle (see Exodus 16:15-30; Joshua 5:11, 12; Nehemiah 9:13-15).<\/p>\n

God\u2019s prophets regularly confronted Israel because of their failure to observe the Sabbath. However, a remnant of people always remained faithful to God (1 Kings 19:18). The Old Testament evidence does not suggest loss of continuity of the weekly cycle or of Sabbath observance during the time of the judges and kings of Israel.<\/p>\n

Sabbath after Captivity<\/b><\/h3>\n

Returning from Babylonian captivity, Ezra and Nehemiah knew which day was the Sabbath and took careful note to instruct the returning Jews to observe it (Nehemiah 10:31; 13:15-22).<\/p>\n

Josephus relates that under the leadership of the Maccabees, the Jews refused to fight with the soldiers of Antiochus on the Sabbath. These events occurred during the period between the end of the prophets (Malachi) and the first coming of Christ (see Josephus, Book XII, Chapter VI). This evidence suggests a continuity of the weekly cycle from the time of the latest Old Testament writings until the time of Christ\u2019s ministry.<\/p>\n

During the Ministry of Jesus<\/b><\/h3>\n

The Gospels frequently report Sabbathkeeping in the life and ministry of Christ. Confrontations abounded between Christ and the Jews on many charges the Jews could bring against Him. However, there is no record of any disagreement between them regarding which day was the Sabbath. It is inconceivable that the identity of the Sabbath would be a problem when the Son of God weekly attended the synagogues of the Jews on the Sabbath (Luke 4:16), giving tacit <\/b>approval of the time they set aside to worship.<\/p>\n

From Jesus to the Present<\/b><\/h3>\n

Many are confident that the apostles initiated observance of the first day of the week as a day of worship, honoring the resurrection of Christ. They see this in Paul and others meeting on the first day of the week (Acts 20:7), in taking up a collection on the first day of the week (1 <\/b>Corinthians 16:2), in John\u2019s expression \u201cthe Lord\u2019s day\u201d (Revelation 1:10), and in the admonition of Hebrews 10:25 not to forsake \u201cthe assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some.\u201d<\/p>\n

This line of reasoning suggests that the Christian church is concerned to identify the first day of the week for worship <\/i>from <\/b>the resurrection of Christ until now. The first day is observed by most <\/b>Christians as a celebration of Jesus\u2019 resurrection.<\/p>\n

Several questions help us put the problem regarding the preservation of the weekly cycle in perspective for the period from Christ\u2019s death to the present:<\/p>\n