What Really Happened at Nicea?

Christian Research Institute ^ | June 10, 2009 | James R. White

[boatbums]

Summary

The Council of Nicea is often misrepresented by cults and other religious movements. The actual concern of the council was clearly and unambiguously the relationship between the Father and the Son. Is Christ a creature, or true God? The council said He was true God. Yet, the opponents of the deity of Christ did not simply give up after the council’s decision. In fact, they almost succeeded in overturning the Nicene affirmation of Christ’s deity. But faithful Christians like Athanasius continued to defend the truth, and in the end, truth triumphed over error.

The conversation intensified quickly. “You can’t really trust the Bible,” my Latter-day Saints acquaintance said, “because you really don’t know what books belong in it. You see, a bunch of men got together and decided the canon of Scripture at the Council of Nicea, picking some books, rejecting others.” A few others were listening in on the conversation at the South Gate of the Mormon Temple in Salt Lake City. It was the LDS General Conference, and I again heard the Council of Nicea presented as that point in history where something “went wrong,” where some group of unnamed, faceless men “decided” for me what I was supposed to believe. I quickly corrected him about Nicea — nothing was decided, or even said, about the canon of Scripture at that council.1

I was reminded how often the phrase “the Council of Nicea” is used as an accusation by those who reject the Christian faith. New Agers often allege that the council removed the teaching of reincarnation from the Bible.2 And of course, Jehovah’s Witnesses and critics of the deity of Christ likewise point to that council as the “beginning of the Trinity” or the “first time the deity of Christ was asserted as orthodox teaching.” Others see it as the beginning of the union of church and state in light of the participation of the Roman Emperor, Constantine. Some even say it was the beginning of the Roman Catholic church.

[Ezekiel]

Excellent study about the Council of Nicea and the critical importance of Sacred Scripture in establishing the major tenets of the Christian faith - specifically the Deity of Jesus Christ.

There is a great wall of doctrine that doubles, triples, quadruples down on the "diety of Christ".

There's even this important Nicene creed that really sticks it to the trinity-deniers. Scripture has been fully weaponized to deal with dissenters, which is a little strange considering that the % of trinity-believers far exceeds that of the "deniers". I suppose it's like big government and its media being hyper-sensitive to any and all competition. Word might get out.

Makes perfect sense in the long-term narrative though. That, along with the pattern of Elijah being whisked up to heaven alive, yet coming back as John the Baptist (for those who would accept it). John even said that he wasn't Elijah. Now if the NT is all true and Jesus made the claim that John was Elijah, then John meant the physical body, whereas Jesus meant the soul. Something like that anyway, so no conflict at all, for those willing to accept it.

The point about Elijah is, that Jesus could be walking around today, mowing his lawn on the weekends, going fishing, working on his car, helping out the neighbors and the community -- you know, just being who he is, even faithfully attending his local church. And nobody would recognize him. If fact, if he believed these doctrines, he wouldn't even recognize himself.

A paradigm shift is a real risk for those who only read the texts through the prism of "unassailable" teachings. The political parallel echo chamber is that Donald Trump should not have been elected president, but there he is. The Establishment has been forced to deal with it, and it isn't coping very well. Masks are dropping because of it.

[Dupin]

“The creed also contained the “anathema” (i.e., condemnation) for those who rejected these truths, and for the first time, such anathemas carried with them civil repercussions. Arius and some of his followers were banished, even though for a short time. This set a precedent that eventually would have tremendous impact on culture and church, but it is also a separate issue from the theological proclamation of the council.”

There’s a good reason the anathema doesn’t appear in the creed when most post it, it was not in the creed when it was adopted. According to Eusebius, the anathema was not in the copy of the creed he and most bishops signed but was placed in later after the adoption. The thing was that Eusebius and many of the bishops agreed with Arius because that was the teaching they’d received as neophytes in the Church. A council empowered to examine him and his teachings would later admit as much. That was why he was on the eve of being accepted fully back into the church when he was assassinated.

I thought it quite interesting that every time the bishops would come up with a statement in simple biblical term each one was found to support Arianism, which was why they had to “go beyond what is written” (1 Cor. 4:6) to find a way to justify their duality creed. The thing to keep in mind about what led to the council of Nicea is that it was really a power struggle for the office of bishop of Alexandria where most of the people wanted Arius and the aged Bishop Alexander wanted the ambitious Athanasius, his assistant, to get the position. Arius had to go, so Athanasius, who history tells us had no scruples, made it into an issue of teachings with Alexander’s approval. The two were willing to split the Empire so Athanasius could get the position, which was one of the most powerful in Christendom at the time.

As to the Mormon, he was obviously ignorant regarding how the Bible became the Bible. But what more can we expect from somebody who goes beyond the scriptures to find his teachings?

[delchiante]

quote-God established the Sabbath as a SIGN – like a symbol, or an identifying label – a “mark” of IDENTITY between Himself and His people!
He knew if they continually remembered His Sabbath day, it was pivotal to remembering Him as CREATOR – the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
Though the Jews rejected Christ, they have clung tenaciously to the Old Testament scriptures, to the weekly Sabbath, and to the annual Sabbaths.

The Sabbath is a sign.
Problem is, Yosemitest, Jews don’t know when the Sabbath is because they don’t have the Son. So they don’t have the Father. (according to scripture)

Jews follow Rome.
Christianity (even those who worship on Saturday) follow Rome.
not the Father.

Rome changed times but it’s deeper than what you state.

The Father tells times through His Son.
The Word Made Flesh.

And Passover is the 6th Day on the Father’s calendar.
and rome’s ‘Friday’ is not the 6th Day on the Father’s calendar.

Rome changed the 1st importance of the gospel- and changed jesus into a roman- in accordance with their catechism and their calendar.

Jews and Christians would be blessed to know when His Sabbath is.
And it won’t be found using Rome’s calendar.

But it will be used following His Creation, His Word and His Calendar.
and maybe more will see why it is written that the Word Became Flesh.

Today, rome’s saturday, isn’t His Sabbath.
that is rome’s approved sabbath day for jews and some christians..
that would be news to Jews and seventh day adventists and hebrew roots folks.

But some of them already know that Rome changed ‘times and laws’.
They just haven’t gone far enough to question rome’s calendar that the world uses today as ‘gospel’..

amazing to watch the world follow rome to accept a false 1st importance of the gospel-
and a false roman christ that is birthed simply with a roman catechism and calendar.

something His Word can show as false.

Amazing to observe the world accept the enemy’s premise.
blind leading blind.

all for His Glory!

[Yosemitest]

Thank you for noticing.

I just wish that more people would read the Bible themselves, and really comprehend what God has told us.
It's not hard to understand.

But the first thing that usually happens to older people who sit down and think about what they've read in the Bible, is ... they quickly learn that most of what they've been taught by Churches ... is not IN the Bible.
Then they get angry, and it takes a while to UN-learn it, and to learn the truth.

It's a beautiful world that's God is bringing to us in the future.
But before it gets here, and we live in REAL PEACE, ... there's a lot of trouble we have to go through; a real fiery trial, which is to try" us all.

Most of these so-called Christians have no comprehension of what is ahead of them, and what THEY will have to do, on the very day that Jesus Christ returns to earth.
If you try to show them, they will deny that Jesus has shown this to them.
Jesus told them that He was also the Lord of the Old Testament too.
2 Chronicles 29:4-11 shows us HOW God will cleanse His temple after his return, and Zechariah 14 shows even more detail about what WE will be doing.

They want to believe in STAYING in the air with Jesus at his second Coming.
And that is where they STOP reading, and they do not absorb what was written right after that.

" ... and so shall we EVER BE WITH the Lord."

Jesus, at His return, will set foot ON the Earth, and WE shall tread down the wicked.

" ... and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall.
And ye shall tread down the wicked;
for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet
in the day that I shall do this, saith the Lord of hosts.

But many say,

"Not me !
My Jesus would never do that !
We'll be in heaven with the Lord."

The "MOTHER OF HARLOTS" has DECEIVED THEM, and taken away the truth from them, just like Jesus described.

[metmom]

My first thought as well

[metmom]

It seems to be the hallmark of a cult to tell people that they cannot understand Scripture and therefore need someone (usually them) to *interpret* it correctly for you.

[metmom]

It seems to be the hallmark of a cult to tell people that they cannot understand Scripture and therefore need someone (usually them) to *interpret* it correctly for you.

Just believe us, they say, because we’re right.

But if you can’t trust Scripture, then why should we trust them?

[metmom]

No need to read beyond that — non-Catholic opinions?

So what?

Are you trying to discredit the message by discrediting the messenger?

Is every non-Catholic wrong by default in your book?

If there is something wrong with the content of the article, how about you address that instead of disparaging or trying to slander, the author?

[metmom]

Heh, but don’t you know that all non-Catholics are wrong by default?

Just because they are not Catholic?

[NorthMountain]

They WILL, however, say you can trust the Bible that has been translated "correctly"

Lots of people say that ... consider the "King James Only" folks, or those who vociferously reject the "Notoriously Incorrect Version". I bet there are even published translations that you would reject or recommend against (like, perhaps, the mormon translation ...).

[Yosemitest]

First century Christians celebrated on Sunday, the Lord’s Day.

Link to chapter and verse, IF you can. The "Lord Day" is the "Great and TERRIBLE Day" of the Lord.
Those worshiping on Sunday, HAVE THE MARK OF THE BEAST in their hand (what they do), in their head (what they think, and in their heart (what they love).

My friend has detailed the proof as follows:

Notice what Dr. Bullinger says in his Appendix concerning the events surrounding the crucifix­ion:
“That Sabbath and the high day of John 19:31, was the ‘holy convocation,’ the first day of the feast, which quite overshadowed the ordinary weekly Sabbath …
this great Sabbath, having been mistaken from the earliest times for the weekly Sabbath, has led to all the confusion …
We have therefore the following facts furnished for our sure guidance:


“1. The ‘high day’ of John 19:31 was the first day of the feast.

“2. The ‘first day of the feast’ was on the 15^th day of Nisan.

“3. The 15^th day of Nisan commenced at sunset on what we should call the 14^th.

“4. ‘Six days before the Passover’ [John 12:1] takes us back to the 9^th day of Nisan.

“5. After two days is the Passover’ [Matt. 26:2; Mark 14:1] takes us to the 13^th day of Nisan.

“6. ‘The first day of the week,’ was the day of the resurrection [Matt. 28:1, &c.], was from our Saturday sunset to our Sunday sunset.
This fixes the days of the week, just as the above fix the days of the month, for,

“7. Reckoning back from this, ‘three days and three nights’ [Matt. 12:40], we arrive at the day of the burial, which must have been before sunset, on the 14^th of Nisan; i.e. before our Wednesday sunset.


“Therefore Wednesday, Nisan 14^th [commenc­ing on the Tuesday at sunset], was ‘the preparation day’, on which the crucifixion took place:
for all four Gospels definitely say that this was the day on which the Lord was buried [before our Wednesday sunset], because it was the preparation [day] that the bodies should not remain on the cross [Greek: Stauro, meaning an upright pale] on the Sabbath day, ‘for that Sabbath day was a high day,’ and, therefore, not the ordinary seventh day, or weekly Sabbath. See John 19:31” (The Companion Bible, Bullinger, Appendix 156, p. 180).


It is because people have blindly assumed that the “preparation day” was a Friday that they thought Christ was not buried until late on a Friday, and thus remained in the tomb only two nights and one daylight period!



Did Jesus Christ Fulfill His Sign?



Unless Jesus Christ was EXACTLY the length of time in the tomb He said he would be, you have no Savior!Jesus staked His Messiahship on being exactly three days and three nights in the tomb!

For centuries, because fallible men, many of  whom were bitten with antisemitism, and who desperately wanted to rid the apostate church of all things “Jewish,” claimed they were worship­ing on SUNDAY in “honor of the resurrection!”

But Christ DID NOT RISE ON SUNDAY!
The angels told the two Marys, “He is NOT HERE!”
They said “HE IS RISEN!” They did not use the present tense that He was just then “rising,” but the past tense, saying He had already risen!

There is simply no question about the days of the month, the days of the week, or the hours of those days in which these MOST IMPORTANT events occurred!

Paul wrote,
“Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;

“By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.

“For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;

“And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:

“And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve:

“After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep.

“After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles.

“And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time” (1 Corinthians 15:1-8).


Paul said “…according to the scriptures.”

Paul MAY have known about the earliest gospels, but remember, the only “scriptures” extant during Paul’s day were those of the “Old Testament.”
Paul had to be including Christ’s reference to Jonah, and the fact that he was exactly “three days and three nights” in the belly of the great fish, as well as referring to Christ’s statements which were faithfully recorded by the apostles.

The apostles believed because they saw the living proof, Jesus Christ of Nazareth, now GLORIFIED; able to appear and disappear at will; able to materialize within a room enclosed by stone walls!
They were so CONVICTED by the proofs they saw that many of them were martyred for their faith! Men do not go willingly to their deaths by crucifixion, burning, or beheading because they believe in a hoax!

Now, notice one final proof !
Only the Fenton translation of the English from the Greek takes note of the fact that the word for “Sabbath” in Matthew 28:1 is in the plural! 
In a footnote to this text in his translation, he says, “The Greek original is in the plural; Sabbaths!”

Of course! There were TWO Sabbaths that week; the annual HIGH day Sabbath, the FEAST, which fell on Thursday, and the regular weekly Sabbath, which fell on the day we call “Saturday.”

Yes, believe it or not, the plain truth is the resurrection was NOT on Sunday !

Jesus Christ commanded His disciples, and He commands US, today, to observe the symbols of His DEATH each year (1 Corinthians 11:23-30) at the “Lord’s Supper.”
He told His disciples, “HAPPY are ye if ye DO THESE THINGS.”

---

The resurrection was NOT on Sunday, and neither is "The LORD''s Day".

[Yosemitest]

"The Sabbath is a sign. Problem is, Yosemitest,
Jews don’t know when the Sabbath is because they don’t have the Son.
So they don’t have the Father. (according to scripture)"

But the "Jews" DO KNOW the Sabbath, and the SabbathS (Plural) .
Don't forget about the HARD lesson they learned in "the wilderness".

[Yosemitest]

WRONG !

[delchiante]

quote-But the “Jews” DO KNOW the Sabbath, and the SabbathS (Plural) .
Don’t forget about the HARD lesson they learned in “the wilderness”.

The wilderness is still ongoing, Yosemitest. This time for Spiritual Israel. And nobody has reached the Promised Land. They’ve all died in the wilderness before reaching the promise of eternal life.

Not unlike Physical Israel. first the natural, then the spiritual.

The Lamb laid His life down on Passover, delivering people from the bondage of sin, about 2,000 years ago.

And after being delivered by the blood of the lamb, about 2,000 years ago, the world has seen about about ‘40 years’ of jubilees (40 x 50= about 2000 years)- some would say scripture hints of ‘about 2,000 swine’ years in the New Testament.

Jews wouldn’t know His Sabbath today because they don’t believe the Lamb died for their sins, in accordance with the scriptures.
Frankly, they haven’t been fully introduced to the Word Made Flesh.

They don’t see the Word Made Flesh at Passover- they see Moses and another lamb.
Christianity doesn’t see the Word Made Flesh at Passover either.
But He’s there and they should because that pattern of Egypt and the wilderness, is replaying itself. Just on a spiritual level.

Btw, you mentioned the wilderness and Sabbath-
the first ‘Sabbath’in the wilderness occured after they were in the wilderness for 30 days.

It occured on the 22nd Day of His 2nd month, according to scripture.
That is a pattern the Father was teaching them- They do not follow that pattern today.. they follow rome.

And, it was not an accident the Word Made Flesh mentioned 30 in one of His Parables. or 60 or 100. also something Jews don’t follow today. (but neither do their Christian brothers and sisters)

The spiritual wilderness has been going on this very day. And Spiritual Israel, if we accept your premise, is in for a hard lesson. a humbling one.

Nothing new under the sun. That which was, is that which will be.

Most don’t know they are wandering in a wilderness.. But that is the beauty of His patterns.

first the natural. then the spiritual.

Jews don’t realize His 7th Day Sabbath is the day the Messsiah laid in the tomb, resting from His work- the 15th Day. (the day after Passover- not the day after rome’s ‘Friday’)
And rose the 16th day. (3rd day from Passover- not the 3rd day from rome’s friday)

The 16th day His 1st month (First Fruits) is the same ‘day’ as the 16th Day of His 2nd month(and every of His months)- that 16th day of the 2nd month is when manna from heaven came in the wilderness.
and came for 6 days.

16,17,18,19,20,21
22nd day - 7th Day Sabbath.

May be the ultimate reason why there are 22 letters in the Hebrew language.

again, patterns He was teaching physical Israel.

Jews would be blessed to understand that.
Christianity would be blessed to understand that too.
Spiritual Israel would be blessed to understand that too.

Inherited lies have blinded people from Truth.

[nobamanomore]

So, why did Christ create a church? If you read the New Testament, you should know how much is dedicated to the church, including taking problems of faith among members to the CHURCH.

It is pretty unbelievably arrogant to assume that people studying teachings and scriptures for 2000 years are wrong, but I am right and the doctrine being taught is unsound!

Organized churches are the biggest problem facing Christianity. Probably the most ignorant statement regarding religion ever written. Let me know where you find that in the New Testament

[Zuriel]

**- specifically the Deity of Jesus Christ.**

Deity is not of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is of Deity,......the only true God. That’s why Jesus Christ and his apostles always used the phrase “the Son of God”.

Simply put: where is the Father NOT at?

[Yosemitest]

Thanks.
You reminded me of something I read many years ago, but that had slipped my mind.

Reference "Rome changed times but it’s deeper than what you state." :
Here's more on the "Calendar"

HAS TIME BEEN LOST?



Past Calendar Changes

The calendar now in use, a Roman calendar, has been changed, but that change did not break the weekly cycle.

Prior to its change, it was called the Julian calendar, be­cause it originated at the time of Julius Caesar, 45 B.C. — several years before the birth of Christ. The one change was ordered by Pope Gregory, and since then it has been called the Gregorian calendar.

The Julian calendar was imperfect — it inserted leap years too frequently. Back in 45 B.C. they supposed the year was exactly 365¼ days long, and to take care of the extra one-fourth day each year, added a day to the month of February every four years. But it was found later the year was 12 min­utes and 14 seconds shorter than this. Consequently, by the time of Pope Gregory, the calendar had drifted TEN DAYS away from the seasons. The Spring equinox, consequently, fell on March 11th, instead of March 21st.

To correct this, ten days were dropped from the calendar. But they were dropped only from the number of days in the MONTH, not from the number of days in the WEEK. A man named Lilius proposed the method which was adopted in making the change. In the Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol. 9, p. 251, under article “Lilius,” explaining this change, we read: “Thus, every imaginable proposition was made, only one idea was never mentioned, viz., the abandonment of the seven-day week.”

In the Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol. 3, p. 740, article “Chro­nology,” we read: “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 reformed the calendar in 1582, Thursday, 4 October was followed by Friday, 15 October. So in England, in 1752, Wednesday, 2 September, was followed by Thursday, 14 September.”

Since the Catholics changed the calendar, the Catholic Encyclopedia is the best historical authority there is on the question, and is proof positive.

So that the reader may clearly understand it, and SEE how it was worked out on the Calendar, we reproduce below the actual calendar. The change was made in Spain, Portugal, and Italy, in 1582. Here is the calendar for October, 1582!

	OCTOBER				1582
Sun.	Mon.	Tues.	Wed.	Thurs.	Fri.	Sat.
	1	2	3	4	15	16
17	18	19	20	21	22	23
24	25	26	27	28	29	30
31

You will notice how ten days were dropped out. One day was the 4th, and the very next day was the 15th of October. But the 4th was Thursday, and the next day was FRIDAY.

To make it still plainer, the 29th of September that year was a Sabbath, or Saturday. The 30th was Sunday. The 1st of October was Monday, the 2nd was Tuesday, the 3rd was Wednesday, the 4th was Thursday, and the next day was Fri­day, but it was not the 5th: it was the 15th. And the following day was Saturday, the 16th. Actually Saturday, the 16th, was just one week of seven days after the preceding Saturday, the 29th of September. There had been exactly seven days, seven sunsets, from one Sabbath to the next. The change in the cal­endar DID NOT IN ANY WAY CHANGE THE SABBATH, or the suc­cession of the DAYS OF THE WEEK.

Now the British countries refused to change the calendar when the pope ordered it. They continued with the old Julian calendar until 1752. And while their days of the month were different, yet their days of the week were JUST THE SAME AS IN ROME. Those who kept the Sabbath in England kept the same SATURDAY that was called Saturday in Rome. Those who observed Sunday observed the same day, both in Rome where the calendar had been changed, and in London where it had not.

The English countries changed the calendar in 1752. By that time it was necessary to drop out 11 days. The change was made in September as follows:

	SEPTEMBER				1752
Sun.	Mon.	Tues.	Wed.	Thurs.	Fri.	Sat.
		1	2	14	15	16
17	18	19	20	21	22	23
24	25	26	27	28	29	30

Now in Russia, the calendar was never changed until just recently, IN OUR OWN LIFETIME. Consequently, in the year 1907, the day that we called the 14th of August, the Russians called the 1st of August. Our calendars were 13 days apart. Yet in BOTH countries, we both called that same day SATURDAY. In BOTH countries, SATURDAY fell on the same day of the week. The calendar has since been changed in Russia. And still their Sunday is our Sunday — their Saturday is our Saturday. For reference, see above article, “Chronology,” Catholic Encyclo­pedia.

And so we see that the calendar that has been IN EFFECT SINCE 45 B.C. — prior to the birth of Christ, proves that there has never been any change in the weekly cycle from the time of Christ until now. The SATURDAY of today is the same sev­enth day of the week as it was in CHRIST’S time. We can, therefore, be sure we keep the same Sabbath day that Christ kept, setting us an example — the same day He said He was LORD of (Mark 2:28).

Gaining or Losing a Day Traveling
Around the World

Next let us consider this argument that we “gain a day” or “lose a day,” depending on which way we are traveling, in going around the world.

Did you ever stop to wonder how Jonah came to be out on a wild sea, so 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. So he embarked on a ship, in an attempt to escape “from the presence of the Lord.” Read Jonah 1:1-3. Now wasn’t it silly for Jonah to think that by journeying away from home on a boat, he could escape from the command of God?

But we have many modern Jonahs. They try to tell us that a certain command, proclaimed by God’s own voice to all His congregation, 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.” Did God so complicate this command that it would require an astronomer to tell us how to obey?

It might seem to some, who do not stop to think very deeply, that you have lost a day if you travel westward around the world — or gained a day if you travel eastward. But this loss or gain is apparent, NOT REAL.

Think what would happen if this were so. Imagine twin brothers, one traveling westward around the world, the other traveling eastward. If one has really lost a day, while the other gained a day, then after one such journey, one becomes TWO DAYS OLDER than his twin brother. If they took enough trips, one would in time be enough older to be the father of his own twin brother! This is ridiculous, but it illustrates the point.

When a person travels, his days are not of even length. The man who travels from San Francisco to New York in one day by 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 in San Francisco, and therefore there is three hours difference in time between these two cities. If the man returns, also by plane, he finds his day on the return trip is computed as 27 hours.

If he leaves San Francisco at 5 A.M., and arrives in New York exactly twelve hours later, his watch will register 5 P.M., but all watches and clocks in New York will register 8 P.M. To compute time as others do there, he will have to set his watch up three hours.

If he kept traveling around the earth, he would have to keep changing his watch, until he had added 24 hours, to his watch, by the time he returned to San Francisco. But did he really add A DAY to his life? Of course not. The only change is in the way men COUNT time. This is merely a trick argument de­signed to confuse people, and justify them in disobeying the commands of God. Sin is the transgression of the Law (I John 3:4) — and the wages of sin is DEATH! (Rom. 6:23.)

What Is a Day?

The correct Bible 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 not measured by the journey of the earth PLUS our journey ON the earth.

The Sabbath is to be observed “from even unto even” (Lev. 23:32). A day ENDS, and another begins, when the sun sets. (See Mark 1:32; Luke 4:40.) See any encyclopedia. History shows that it was always custom to end and begin days at sun­set until a few hundred years after Christ.

We live on a round earth. A day is measured by the rev­olution of the earth on its axis, in relation to the sun. Since the Sabbath day begins and ends at SUNSET, we observe it here when the sun sets HERE. But the sun sets three hours earlier in New York than on the Pacific Coast, hence Sabbath-keepers there begin their Sabbath three hours earlier than we on the Coast. In London the Sabbath begins nine hours earlier than on the Pacific Coast, if kept according to God’s directions.

The answer to it all is, WE KEEP THE DAY WHEN THE DAY COMES TO US.

Jerusalem is God’s headquarters for the earth. That is where Jesus kept the Sabbath, and we know HE had it right! Authorities believe it was by God’s guidance that men were caused to set the international “date line” (where, because of a round earth turning on its axis a day must be dropped or added IN COMPUTATION), in the middle of the Pacific where it affects virtually nobody and almost exactly OPPOSITE from Jerusalem.

As time is now computed, Sabbath-keepers the world over keep the SAME SABBATH, when it comes to them, that is and always has been the seventh day of the week AT JERUSALEM. But, for the simple reason that the Bible tells us to begin our Sabbath at SUNSET, and the sun does not set at the same time in various parts of the earth, the holy hours of the Sabbath be­gin, in China, several hours earlier than in Jerusalem — and likewise, in America several hours LATER than in Jerusalem. But, beginning in the middle of the Pacific, halfway around the earth from Jerusalem, ALL EVERYWHERE ON EARTH KEEP THE SAME DAY, as that day comes to them, THAT IS KEPT AT JERU­SALEM. Sunday observers have no trouble figuring when their Sunday comes to them, anywhere on the earth. We cannot run away from this truth on a boat.

That Long Day of Joshua’s

There is still another argument. The long day of Joshua when the sun stood still for “about a whole day” is figured around in a manner to show that Sunday is the seventh day of the week.

The Bible account 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 on this is an ingenious argument, accompanied by a diagram, which is supposed to show that today Sunday is ac­tually the continuation of the seventh day from creation. The gist of the 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 this week contained a twenty-four hour period without a corresponding sunrise and sunset . . . Professor Totten has clearly demonstrated that 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.”

Following is a reproduction of the diagram used to present this argument:



Sun Time

7th

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

5th

6th

7th

1st

Days of Week

Sat

Sun

Mon

Tues

Wed

Thurs

Fri

Sat

Sun

Mon

Division of
24 hours into
Night and Day

Josh- ua’s Long Day

Order of Days

7th

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

5th

6th

7th

1st

2nd

Hour Periods

24

24

24

24

24

24

24

24

24

24

NOTE: If Joshua’s long day had been counted as two days in actual history — “Tues.” and “Wed.” as labeled in this trick diagram, and the order of days had come down to us thus, this diagram would be correct. But it was counted ONE DAY. The day labeled “Sun” above we call SATURDAY today, the true 7th day.


---

Here's another source with similar Diagram:

Incorrect View of “Joshua’s Long Day” This graphic shows the incorrect view of Joshua’s “long day” as two 24-hour days.
The result is that
the first day of the week (Sunday) becomes the seventh day of the week,
thus allowing the true Sabbath to be lost.

Now back to the first source article.

Surely the reader can see what is WRONG with this argu­ment, and this diagram. First, it is stated, “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 this diagram. But NOT ACCORDING TO GOD’S WORD! The diagram is in ERROR!

What is wrong? Simply this: GOD SAYS, “from even unto even shall ye celebrate your Sabbath.” The days OF THE WEEK are counted from SUNSET TO SUNSET, according to the measuring of time in the first chapter of Genesis. It is stated each day that “the evening and the morning were the first day” — “the second day,” and so on. Nowhere does God’s Word say “The first 24 hours was the first day! and the next 24 hours was the second day,” etc. GOD DOES NOT COUNT TIME ACCORDING TO MAN-MADE WATCHES AND CLOCKS! God counts DAYS according to the SETTING OF THE SUN.

Now in this man-made diagram, the MAN who designed it called this long day of Joshua’s two days — Tuesday and Wednesday. Is this in harmony with the BIBLE? Does the BIBLE call this long day TWO DAYS? Notice, in speaking of it, in Joshua 10:14, it distinctly says “And there was NO DAY like it before or after it.” The Bible calls it a DAY — just ONE DAY. But in order to twist it around to conform to the broad and popular way of observing the pagan Sunday, this one day must be counted as TWO DAYS. BUT THAT IS CONTRARY TO THE SCRIP­TURES.

Next, this argument ingeniously confuses the reader be­tween numbering according to 24-hour periods, and numbering according to sunsets. The author of this argument used 24-hour periods to make Friday appear to be Saturday — the actual 6th day of the week APPEAR to be Saturday the 7th day. Then he turns around and re-numbers these same days according to sunsets to make SUNDAY come out the 7th day.

It is clever, but it is a deception. WE CANNOT FIGURE DAYS IN TERMS OF 24-HOUR PERIODS. God counts days from sunsets.

Joshua’s long day was approximately 48 hours of a man-made watch, but it was ONE DAY, and the Bible calls IT a DAY, and specifically says it was DIFFERENT FROM other days — “there was no DAY” — not “days” but “day” — “like IT before or after IT.” The pronoun “it” is singular. Just ONE DAY! God says so!! God’s week is not made of seven 24-hour periods, but of seven days counting from sunsets. A diagram showing this as it actually IS, according to the Bible and God’s reckoning of time follows:



Sun Time

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

5th

6th

7th

1st

2nd

Days of Week

Sun

Mon

Tues

Wed

Thurs

Fri

Sat

Sun

Mon

Division of
Night and Day
Periods

36 Hrs. Daylight This Day

Order of Days

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

5th

6th

7th

1st

2nd

Hour per Day

24

24

48

24

24

24

24

24

24

NOTE: Days were reckoned THEN, and down through history to today, according to this diagram, not as in above diagram. Saturday is TRUE 7th day from Creation.

Here's another second source Diagram showing the chart:

Correct View of Joshua’s “Long Day”
This graphic correctly show the week of Joshua’s “long day.”
The true Sabbath still occurs on the seventh day of the week.

Now we go back to the original article:

A Trick Intended to Deceive

Do you notice the trick employed as a means of deception in the first diagram? “Joshua’s Long Day,” as it is plainly labeled in the diagram — a day — one single day — is marked “Tuesday” and “Wednesday” — as if it were two days. At the bottom of the diagram, it is numbered the 3rd and the 4th days of the week — TWO DAYS. Then at the top of the diagram it is re-numbered a different way — as ONE DAY, the “3rd” day of the week. The day labeled “Saturday” is arrived at by count­ing Joshua’s Long Day as TWO DAYS. Figuring that way, this day is made the 7th day of the week. Then, in the top line by re-numbering this day as ONE day — the 3rd day of the week — the day he has called Thursday is the 4th day, Friday is the 5th day, and Saturday is the 6th day of the week. This, of course, brings Sunday out the 7th day.

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

WHICH IS IT, the 3rd day of the week — Tuesday, or the 3rd and the 4th days — Tuesday AND Wednesday? Since the Bible calls it “A DAY” and not two days, it is only ONE DAY, Tuesday, the 3rd day of the week, as shown in the correct dia­gram.

The error in the first diagram is in calling this day one day in one place, and two days another time. Actually it was just ONE DAY, Tuesday the 3rd day of the week. The day he has labeled Saturday, therefore, is NOT SATURDAY AT ALL, but ac­tually Friday, the 6th day of the week. And the seventh day should not be labeled Sunday as in his diagram, but Saturday, as in the second diagram. And that is exactly the way it actually was counted in history! It is surely PLAIN that this first dia­gram is a deception and a delusion.

But now, finally, to PROVE the whole thing, let us remember this: To establish WHICH DAY is the true Sabbath — the true SEVENTH DAY from creation, which God MADE HOLY TIME, we need to go back no further than the time of Christ!

For, if this Joshua’s long day argument is true, then JESUS PROFANED THE SABBATH GOD MADE HOLY TIME, and ob­served the 6th, not the true 7th day. And if we accuse Jesus of that, we accuse Him of committing SIN, for sin is the trans­gression of the law, and no one will argue that the Sabbath point of the law was abolished during Jesus’ lifetime! If he sinned, then we are without HOPE!

But we know Jesus knew which was the RIGHT day. He was the Maker, and Lord of that day (Mark 2:27-28). He kept the TRUE SABBATH, and the calendar record PROVES that the Saturday of today is the exact SAME seventh day Jesus kept. Certainly we should want to keep the same day Jesus kept!

Was TIME Lost from Adam to Moses?

Adam was created and living when sunset came the sixth day of creation week — when God rested from His work. Adam knew which was the seventh day. Jesus called Abel “righteous” (Matt. 23:35), so Abel kept the Sabbath. Enoch “walked with God,” so Enoch kept the Sabbath — and he was “translated” less than a hundred years before Noah. They knew which day was the same seventh day all through this time. Adam lived 243 years with Methuselah, and until Lamech was 56 years of age. These men knew which day was the seventh day. Methu­selah lived 600 years with Noah, and Lamech lived with Noah 595 years.

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

Shem was also righteous, and he lived until Abraham was 150 years old. Noah died only about two years before Abraham was born. Abraham kept God’s Sabbath (Gen. 18:19; 26:5). So also did his son Isaac, his grandson Jacob, and his great grandson Joseph — all of whom were righteous commandment keepers (Ps. 119:172). No, time was not lost down to the time of Joseph.

But, after the death of Joseph, the children of Israel (Jacob) became slaves in Egypt. “Therefore,” it is written, “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 . . .” (Ex. 1:11, 13-14).

The Egyptians did not observe the Sabbath. They 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 keep the Sabbath. They had no priesthood. There were no Sabbath or religious services. Probably there was no religious teaching — certainly none was allowed on an organized scale.

And there was no BIBLE — no written record of GOD’S INSTRUCTION, or of GOD’S LAW! The Bible says, “The Word of the Eternal endureth forever.” IF any inspired Word of God had been written prior to Moses, it would be in evidence today. The first Scriptures were written by MOSES, after the Israelites were delivered out of Egyptian slavery.

The generation of Israelites which Moses led out of Egypt had had no religious instruction or training. Probably they knew little about the Sabbath. Time could have been lost — to them. But, if so, GOD REVEALED IT BY AMAZING MIRACLES!

God Revealed the Creation Sabbath to Israel

In the days of Moses, God revealed the true creation Sabbath to all the Children of Israel, in the raining of manna from heaven.

At the wilderness of Sin, two weeks before arriving at Sinai, they grumbled and complained from lack of 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 will keep GOD’S LAW. To disobey is SIN. And Moses and Aaron said to 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 the dew lay round about the host” (Ex. 16:4-13).

Notice, there was a RELIGIOUS ASSEMBLY on this day, and the GLORY OF THE LORD appeared. The quail did not come up until the sun set. WHY? Because this had been a Sabbath day. At sunset, when it ended, the quails came, and the people were privileged to go to work gathering in food to eat.

Next morning the manna fell. This was the FIRST DAY of the week. If they tried to keep over any manna till the follow­ing day, it bred worms and stank (verse 20). On the sixth day (verse 22), twice as much came from heaven and all gathered twice as much. Then, that sixth day, the Lord said, “Tomorrow is the rest of the holy Sabbath unto the Lord” (verse 23). They kept it over, and on this day it did not breed worms nor stink.

However, on the seventh day some of the people must have thought TIME WAS LOST. They were like some modern peo­ple who were not sure WHICH DAY was the Sabbath, or whether it makes any difference. They went out to gather on the seventh day (verse 27) — AND THEY FOUND NONE! On this day God did not send any! So, by three miracles God showed them WHICH DAY was the true Creation Sabbath.

Time could not have been mixed up or lost under the strict Mosaic regime between then and the time of Christ. We have shown that Joshua’s Long Day was just ONE DAY, and it did not change the reckoning of time in any way. If it did, then, as pointed out, Christ kept the wrong day! And so we come to the time of Christ, KNOWING that time was not lost up to then.

The Proof of the Jewish People

Now if we are convinced that Jesus set us a RIGHT example, and that He observed the RIGHT seventh day, we need have no further difficulty.

Notice, the day Jesus kept AS HIS CUSTOM (Luke 4:16) was the same day all the Jews kept, for they were holding their religious service in the synagogue — verses 17, 20.

About 43 years after this the Jewish people were driven into EVERY NATION ON EARTH. From that time until now, they have been separated, scattered into all nations. Through the Middle Ages, the Jews in China had no way of communicating with the Jews of Africa; the Jews in Europe with those of other parts of the world. Yet today, with communication restored over every part of the world, we do NOT find the Jews all mixed up.

If time had been lost, the Jews of one part of the world would be observing one day, and the Jews of other parts other days. But everywhere — in EVERY NATION ON EARTH, we find the Jewish people have been keeping the SAME IDENTICAL DAY — the day we call SATURDAY — the true seventh day.

The Jewish people are the miracle of all history — and they are another proof that we have not lost the Sabbath. Ask any orthodox Jew today if HE has lost HIS Sabbath. Why, such an idea would be nonsense to him. He is not in doubt!

The Proof of the Church

Another line of proof! We have a history of the true Church of God through every century from Christ until now. It has always been a SABBATH-KEEPING Church.

Through the Middle Ages, just as prophesied in Rev. 12:6, this true Church had to FLEE to the wilderness, clear beyond the jurisdiction of the Roman Empire, dominated by the Roman Catholic Church.

In 363 A. D. the Roman Church passed the Decree of the Council of Laodicea, pronouncing the DEATH SENTENCE upon any found to be keeping the Sabbath. Many true Christians were MARTYRED for keeping this day. When men were willing to GIVE THEIR LIVES in order to keep God’s commands, do you think they could lose track of the right day?

And coming down to modern times, we find this Church, the true Christian Church, keeping the day we call Saturday — the same day the Jewish people have been keeping right down through every year from Christ until now.

The Proof of Reason

And another line of proof. Why should time be lost? How COULD it be lost? Stop, think! One person might, perhaps, wake up some Saturday morning and think it was Friday, and thus wait until Sunday to keep his Sabbath. But for time to be lost, not only ONE MAN, but every other person in his town or city — every person in every province, state, or county of the whole world — every person in every nation on earth — would have to wake up the same morning with the same hallucination! Do you think this possible? Yet you believe this has happened if you believe that time has been lost!

The Testimony of Astronomers

Finally, we have the scientific testimony of astronomers. We quote from the official government statements to the League of Nations, as published August 17, 1926, in an official League document.

The government of Finland presented this observation from one of its 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.”

The government of France presented the following state­ments from two of its leading 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 of Athens, a member of the League Com­mittee, “The continuity of the week . . . has crossed the cen­turies, and all known calendars, still intact.”

And we could go on and on. But this is enough. We have presented the proof 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, we might add, as positive 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 kept by Jesus and the early apostles. The Catholic priest today is no more in doubt about his SUNDAY being the true FIRST day of the week, than the Jew is about God’s Sabbath.

Would God set apart a certain day, put His blessing on it (Gen. 2:1-3), make it HOLY TIME, command that it be KEPT HOLY FOREVER, and then let that holy time become so lost we cannot tell when to keep it?

TIME LOST?
If so, then you and I are LOST, for it is SIN to profane God’s Sabbath!
That is the 4th point of the Law.

Sin is the transgression of the Law (I John 3:4),
and if we break only ONE OF ITS POINTS — any one — we are guilty sinners (James 2:8-11).
The very last recorded words of Jesus say:

“Blessed are they that do His [His Father’s] Command­ments,
that THEY may have RIGHT TO the TREE OF LIFE” (Rev. 22:14).

Thanks "delchiante", for the reminder about the CHANGE TO THE CALENDAR .

[Yosemitest]

Most of what you wrote, I agree on.
BUT ...

But the "Jews" DO KNOW the Sabbath, and the SabbathS (Plural) .
Don't forget about the HARD lesson they learned in "the wilderness".
God BURNED IT into their actions (hand), thinking (forehead), and into what they love (heart).

Ponder Romans 3:1-3; Hebrews 5:11-13 ; and 1 Peter 4:10-12 .

[Campion]

Proof by blatant assertion?

[Campion]

It seems to be the hallmark of a cult to tell people that they cannot understand Scripture and therefore need someone (usually them) to *interpret* it correctly for you.

It's the hallmark of a cult to say "Everyone else *got it wrong* for (centuries, millenia, etc.) until *we* came along to finally tell you the *truth* that wicked, naughty men -- who were stronger than Christ's promise to protect His Bride through the power of the Holy Spirit -- to finally tell you the truth that *they* have been hiding from you all these years."