The author acknowledges the assistance provided by Roger William Chamberlin prior to the preparation of this article.
When Do Yahweh's Days Start And End?
When do days, as assessed by Yahweh, commence and end? Is it in the morning, or in the evening? Is it at sunrise, or at sunset? Is it at some arbitrarily defined time called "midnight", subject to movement at different times of the year depending on which geographical location one is in? Is it the same for all the earth - absolute, or does it change depending on the location of the earth - relative?
Encyclopaedia Britannica:
"Day"
The Encyclopaedia Britannica says the following concerning "day":
Time required for a celestial body to turn once on its axis; especially the period of the Earth's rotation. The sidereal day is the time required for the Earth to rotate once relative to the background of the stars--i.e., the time between two observed passages of a star over the same meridian of longitude. The apparent solar day is the time between two successive transits of the Sun over the same meridian. Because the orbital motion of the Earth makes the Sun seem to move slightly eastward each day relative to the stars, the solar day is about four minutes longer than the sidereal day; i.e., the mean solar day is 24 hours 3 minutes 56.555 seconds of mean sidereal time; more usually the sidereal day is expressed in terms of solar time, being 23 hours 56 minutes 4 seconds of mean solar time long. The mean solar day is the average value of the solar day, which changes slightly in length during the year as Earth's speed in its orbit varies.
The solar day is the fundamental unit of time in both astronomical practice and civil life. It begins at midnight and runs through 24 hours, until the next midnight. A day is commonly divided into two sets of 12 hours for ordinary timekeeping purposes; those hours from midnight to noon are designated AM (ante meridiem, "before noon"), and those from noon to midnight are designated PM (post meridiem, "after noon"). In law the word day, unless qualified, means the 24 hours between midnight and midnight, rather than the daylight hours between sunrise and sunset.
Copyright 1994-1998 Encyclopaedia Britannica
Encyclopaedia Britannica:
"International Date Line"
Concerning "international date line" the Encyclopaedia Britannica says:
Also called DATE LINE, imaginary line extending
between the North Pole and the South Pole and arbitrarily demarcating each
calendar day from the next. It corresponds along most of its length to the
180th meridian of longitude but deviates eastward through the Bering Strait to
avoid dividing Siberia and then deviates westward to include the Aleutian
Islands with Alaska. South of the Equator, another eastward deviation allows
certain island groups to have the same day as
The date line is a consequence of the worldwide use of timekeeping systems arranged so that local noon corresponds approximately to the time at which the Sun crosses the local meridian of longitude (see standard time). A traveler going completely around the Earth, carrying a clock that he advanced or retarded by one hour whenever he entered a new time zone and a calendar that he advanced by one day whenever his clock indicated midnight, would find on returning to his starting point that the date according to his own experience was different by one day from that kept by persons who had remained at the starting point. The date line provides a standard means of making the needed readjustment: a traveler moving eastward across the line sets his calendar back one day, and one traveling westward sets his a day ahead. (see also Index: standard time)
Copyright 1994-1998 Encyclopaedia Britannica
Encyclopaedia Britannica:
"Standard Time"
Concerning "standard time" the Encyclopaedia Britannica says:
The time of a region or country that is established by law or general usage as civil time.
The concept of standard time was adopted in the late 19th century in an attempt to end the confusion that was caused by each community's use of its own solar time. Some such standard became increasingly necessary with the development of rapid railway transportation and the consequent confusion of schedules that used scores of different local times kept in separate communities. (Local time varies continuously with change in longitude.) The need for a standard time was felt most particularly in the United States and Canada, where several extensive railway routes passed through places that differed by several hours in local time.
Sir Sandford Fleming, a Canadian railway planner
and engineer, outlined a plan for worldwide standard time in the late 1870s.
Following this initiative, in 1884 delegates from 27 nations met in 
apart, starting with the prime meridian through
Related Internet Links:
Copyright 1994-1998 Encyclopaedia Britannica
Encyclopaedia Britannica:
"Universal Time"
Concerning "universal time" the Encyclopaedia Britannica says:
(UT), the mean solar time of the longitude). Universal Time replaced the designation Greenwich
Mean Time in 1928; it is now used to denote the solar time (q.v.) when
an accuracy of about one second suffices. In 1955 the International
Astronomical Union defined several categories of Universal Time of successively
increasing accuracy. UT0 represents the initial values of Universal Time
obtained by optical observations of star transits at various astronomical
observatories. These values differ slightly from each other because of the
effects of polar motion (q.v.). UT1, which gives the precise angular
coordinate of the Earth about its spin axis, is obtained by correcting UT0 for
the effects of polar motion. Finally, an empirical correction to take account
of annual changes in the Earth's speed of rotation is added to UT1 to convert
it into UT2. Coordinated Universal Time (q.v.), the international basis
of civil and scientific time, is obtained from an atomic clock that is adjusted
in epoch so as to remain close to UT1; in this way, the solar time that is
indicated by Universal Time is kept in close coordination with atomic time.
(see also Index: Coordinated Universal Time)
Copyright 1994-1998 Encyclopaedia Britannica
Human Methods Of Computing The Day
Are Variable
The above compilations from the Encyclopaedia Britannica show that man's methods of computing the day are not standard for the entire earth. Even the computation of the date, that is which day it is relative to another, is not standard, despite the International Date Line, seeing that this line is indeed defined in an arbitrary manner.
How Does Yahweh Compute The Day?
What about Yahweh's method of computing the day? Is it standard or is it, as man's methods, arbitrary? Is the day, according to Yahweh, assessed on the basis of local factors, as is the case with man, or is it assessed on the basis of an absolute standard, irrespective of local factors?
Genesis 1:1-19 reads,
1:1In
the beginning God created the heavens and the
earth. 1:2Now the earth was
formless and empty. Darkness was on the surface of the deep. God’s Spirit
was hovering over the surface of the waters.
1:3God
said, "Let there be light," and there was light. 1:4God saw the light, and saw that it was good.
God divided the light from the darkness. 1:5God
called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. There was evening and
there was morning, one day.
1:6God
said, "Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it
divide the waters from the waters." 1:7God
made the expanse, and divided the waters which were under the expanse from the
waters which were above the expanse, and it was so. 1:8God called the expanse sky. There was
evening and there was morning, a second day.
1:9God
said, "Let the waters under the sky be gathered together to one place,
and let the dry land appear," and it was so. 1:10God called the dry land Earth, and the
gathering together of the waters he called Seas. God saw that it was good. 1:11God said, "Let the earth put forth
grass, herbs yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit after their kind,
with its seed in it, on the earth," and it was so. 1:12The earth brought forth grass, herbs
yielding seed after their kind, and trees bearing fruit, with its seed in it,
after their kind: and God saw that it was good. 1:13There was evening and there was morning, a third day.
1:14God
said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of sky to divide the day from
the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days and years; 1:15and let them be for lights in the expanse
of sky to give light on the earth," and it was so. 1:16God made the two great lights: the greater
light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night. He also made the
stars. 1:17God set them in the
expanse of sky to give light to the earth, 1:18and
to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the
darkness. God saw that it was good. 1:19There
was evening and there was morning, a fourth day.
It should be noted that at the beginning the earth was formless and empty, entirely covered by water and in darkness. Yahweh then created LIGHT! After dividing or separating the created light from the existing darkness, he called the light Day and the darkness he called Night. The Night also corresponded with the evening, while the Day corresponded with the morning. Together both night and day, or evening and morning, made one day.
Day And Night Existed Without Visible
Land On The Earth
On the second day Yahweh separated the waters covering the earth into two levels, with a vast space between the outer level of water and the inner level of water. There was still no visible land on earth, yet both night and day existed, together making the second day.
On the third day Yahweh gathered the lower waters together in order to bring into surface visibility dry land. It should therefore be noted that Yahweh's computation of night and day, evening and morning, existed independently of the visibility of land on the surface of the earth. Yahweh's evening and morning, night and day, existed even when the entire earth was covered with water, even before the existence of sky separating the lower and upper waters. It therefore appears that Yahweh's computation of night and day, and the commencement of an overall day, is not dependent on any visible land mass on the earth! Yahweh's computation of the day, of both evening and morning or night and day, exists independently of any visible land mass.
Day And Night Exist Independently Of
The Existence Of Lights In The Sky
On the fourth day Yahweh created the lights in the sky to divide the day from the night, and also to be for signs for computing various units of time. It should be noted that at the time Yahweh created the lights in the sky for the purpose of dividing the day from the night, the day and the night already existed! The day and the night existed independently of the lights in the sky, and therefore exist independently of these lights. In other words, even if these lights in the sky disappear, day and night on the earth continue to exist, as their existence is dependent on the LIGHT that Yahweh created on the first day, and not on the subsequent lights in the sky created on the fourth day!
In other words, whether or not there is sun or moon or stars is irrelevant to the computation of day and night. These lights - the sun and moon and stars - assist in the computation of various time periods, including the day, but are NOT NECESSARY for their computation, seeing that day and night were already in existence and being assessed by Yahweh prior to the creation of these lights.
Can Humans Assess Day And Night
Without The Lights In The Sky?
If visible land mass is not necessary in the computation of day and night, how should day and night be assessed? If the existence of the lights in the sky is not necessary for the computation of day and night, though helpful for this purpose, how should day and night be assessed independently of these lights? Has Yahweh given humans a mechanism for assessing day and night independently of the lights he created in the sky, or are these lights the only mechanism by which humans may assess day and night?
Encyclopaedia Britannica:
"Arctic"
Concerning "Arctic" the Encyclopaedia Britannica says:
Northernmost region of the Earth, centred on the North Pole and characterized by distinctively polar conditions of plant life, climate, and so on...
Unlike the Antarctic continent, which is surrounded
by ocean, the Arctic is composed largely of an ocean basin that is almost
completely surrounded by continents. Included in the Arctic region are the
northern reaches of Canada, Alaska, Russia, Norway, the Atlantic Ocean,
Svalbard, most of Iceland, Greenland, and the Bering Sea. The region is not
coextensive with the area enclosed by the Arctic Circle--a line drawn at about
66 30' N, marking the southern limit of the zone in which there
is at least one annual 24-hour period during which the Sun does not set and one
during which it does not rise. A more useful line to mark the Arctic's
southern boundary might be the northernmost tree line on the continents, but no
universally agreed boundary exists.
How Are Day And Night Assessed In
Earthly Regions Where The Sun Doesn't Rise Or Set?
Seeing that there are regions of the earth where, for some sufficiently lengthy periods of time, the sun either does not rise or does not set, how is the day and night assessed for these regions? If one is to rely solely on Yahweh's provided mechanism of the Sun to assess the day, and it is noted that for some periods of time there is either no sunrise or sunset in these regions, how are humans in these regions to assess days and nights as determined by Yahweh? Does Yahweh provide a mechanism independent of the Sun for determining day and night for these regions, or is the Sun still the determinant provided by Yahweh for determining day and night for these regions?
If the Sun is still Yahweh's provided determinant for assessing day and night for even these regions, and it is noted that relative or local sunrise and sunset is inappropriate for assessing Yahweh's days and nights for these regions, is it the case that Yahweh uses absolute sunrise and sunset for assessing his days and nights? In other words, has Yahweh aligned absolute sunrise and sunset times at a particular location on the earth that he synchronised with the LIGHT that he created on the first day spoken about in Genesis 1:3-5?
It should be noted that Yahweh did not say in Genesis 1 that different parts of the earth had different commencement points in time for day and night. He simply stated that there was day and night, speaking in reference to the whole earth, rather than just to a particular part of the earth. Also, seeing that there wasn't any visible land mass until the third day, yet there was day and night, it is indeed the case that day and night are not to be assessed on the basis of land mass, such as the international date line is assessed. For Yahweh's assessment method of day and night exists independently of any visible land mass on the earth.
Yahweh Assesses Day And Night
Independently Of Local Sunrise And Sunset Times
It therefore appears that Yahweh's assessment method of day and night exists independently of relative or local sunrise and sunset times in various parts of the earth, but is assessed on the basis of absolute sunrise and sunset times at a particular location of the earth. These sunrise and sunset times of this location of the earth are in harmony with the LIGHT that Yahweh created on the first day spoken about in Genesis 1:3-5.
Where Is Yahweh's Reference Point For
Assessing Day And Night On Earth?
Where is this location on the earth with sunrise and sunset times in harmony with those of the LIGHT that Yahweh created on the first day spoken about in Genesis 1:3-5? Has Yahweh revealed where this location is, that these sunrise and sunset times may be used to assess Yahweh's days and nights, rather than those of humans arbitrarily worked out?
Day And Night Continue Even When The
Sun Does Not Set
Isaiah 60:14-22 reads,
60:14The
sons of those who afflicted you shall come bending to you; and all those who
despised you shall bow themselves down at the soles of your feet; and they
shall call you The city of Yahweh, The Zion of the Holy One of Israel. 60:15Whereas you have been forsaken and hated,
so that no man passed through you, I will make you an eternal excellency, a joy
of many generations. 60:16You shall
also suck the milk of the nations, and shall suck the breast of kings; and you
shall know that I, Yahweh, am your Savior, and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of
Jacob. 60:17For brass I will bring
gold, and for iron I will bring silver, and for wood brass, and for stones
iron. I will also make your officers peace, and righteousness your ruler. 60:18Violence shall no more be heard in your
land, desolation nor destruction within your borders; but you shall call your
walls Salvation, and your gates Praise. 60:19The
sun shall be no more your light by day; neither for brightness shall the moon
give light to you: but Yahweh will be to you an everlasting light, and your God
your glory. 60:20Your sun shall no
more go down, neither shall your moon withdraw itself; for Yahweh will be your
everlasting light, and the days of your mourning shall be ended. 60:21Your people also shall be all righteous;
they shall inherit the land forever, the branch of my planting, the work of my
hands, that I may be glorified. 60:22The
little one shall become a thousand, and the small one a strong nation; I,
Yahweh, will hasten it in its time.
Speaking of those Israelites in Zion, the city of Yahweh, Yahweh shows in 60:19-20 that even though the sun and the moon would cease to have effect upon them, being lights that rule over the day and the night, they shall indeed still have days. Even though both sun and moon would be visible to them, they would still have days. This implies that the computation of days that would be operating with respect to these Israelites in Zion in this prophesied time would be based not on the sun, but on the LIGHT that Yahweh created on the first day as spoken in Genesis 1:3-5. This further shows that in those regions of the earth where the sun either does not rise or set for sufficiently lengthy periods of time, the manner of assessing days and nights is according to Yahweh's LIGHT created in Genesis 1:3-5, rather than by using sunrises and sunsets at those locations of the earth.
It should be noted that in this prophesied time in Zion in Israel the sun shall not be necessary in assessing day and night. It is also noted that in the regions of the North and South Poles of the earth it is sometimes impossible to assess days and nights on the basis of the sun, seeing that no sunrise or sunset takes place for sufficiently lengthy periods. Nevertheless, days and nights continue irrespective of whether it is possible to assess them using the sun. It is therefore noted that in both Zion, or in the extreme northern and southern parts of the earth, days and nights are truly assessed on the basis of Yahweh's created LIGHT as spoken of in Genesis 1:3-5, rather than according to sunrises and sunsets in localised regions of the earth.
Israel Will Never Cease To Be A
Nation While The Sun Gives Light By Day
Jeremiah 31:31-37 reads,
31:31Behold,
the days come, says Yahweh, that I will make a new covenant with the house of
Israel, and with the house of Judah: 31:32not
according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took
them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they
broke, although I was a husband to them, says Yahweh. 31:33But this is the covenant that I will make
with the house of Israel after those days, says Yahweh: I will put my law in
their inward parts, and in their heart will I write it; and I will be their
God, and they shall be my people: 31:34and
they shall teach no more every man his neighbor, and every man his brother,
saying, Know Yahweh; for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the
greatest of them, says Yahweh: for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin
will I remember no more. 31:35Thus
says Yahweh, who gives the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the
moon and of the stars for a light by night, who stirs up the sea, so that
the waves of it roar; Yahweh of hosts is his name: 31:36If these ordinances depart from before me,
says Yahweh, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation
before me forever. 31:37Thus
says Yahweh: If heaven above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth
searched out beneath, then will I also cast off all the seed of Israel for all
that they have done, says Yahweh.
Yahweh indicates that Israel will always remain a nation before him forever. He also indicates that the ordinances of the sun and the moon will continue to exist before him forever, with the sun continuing to rule the day and the moon and the stars continuing to rule the night. The indication is that during the time that Yahweh enters into a new covenant with Israel his ordinances of day and night will continue unabated.
Tying Yahweh's words in Jeremiah 31 and Isaiah 60 it is noted that the ordinances of the sun and the moon will continue to operate as long as Israel continues to exist as a nation. It is also noted that the sun and the moon will not be effective for purposes of determining day and night in the city of Yahweh, the Zion of the Holy One of Israel, as Yahweh's everlasting light will overpower the lights of the sun and the moon. It is therefore noted that day and night are determined independently of the sun and moon, but according to Yahweh's created LIGHT as seen in Genesis 1:3-5.
Evening Time Will Exist Even In
Yahweh's Future Unique Day
Zechariah 14:1-7 reads,
14:1Behold,
a day of Yahweh comes, when your spoil will be divided in your midst. 14:2For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem
to battle; and the city will be taken, the houses rifled, and the women
ravished. Half of the city will go out into captivity, and the rest of the
people will not be cut off from the city. 14:3Then
Yahweh will go out and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the
day of battle. 14:4His feet will
stand in that day on the Mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the
east; and the Mount of Olives will be split in two, from east to west, making a
very great valley. Half of the mountain will move toward the north, and half of
it toward the south. 14:5You shall
flee by the valley of my mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach
to Azel; yes, you shall flee, just like you fled from before the earthquake in
the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Yahweh my God will come, and all the holy
ones with you. 14:6It will happen
in that day, that there will not be light, cold, or frost. 14:7It will be a unique day which is known to
Yahweh; not day, and not night; but it will come to pass, that at evening
time there will be light.
It should be noted that in the unique day which is known to Yahweh, whereby it will not be physically possible to distinguish day from night, on account of Yahweh's light, there will still be evening time! For there to still exist evening time, even when physically it isn't possible to distinguish day from night, implies that evening time is assessed on a basis independent of physical appearance with respect to the manifestation of light in any given location. For evening time is assessed on the basis of Yahweh's created LIGHT as seen in Genesis 1:3-5, rather than on the basis of the light manifested by the sun. In other words, Yahweh's created LIGHT as seen in Genesis 1:3-5 will continue to be the basis by which day and night will continue to be determined, even in circumstances whereby Yahweh's own glorious light makes it physically impossible to distinguish between day and night in the physical proximity of Yahweh's presence!
The Holy City Doesn't Need Sunlight
Revelation 21:9-22:5 reads,
21:9One
of the seven angels who had the seven bowls, who were laden with the seven last
plagues came, and he spoke with me, saying, "Come here. I will show you
the wife, the Lamb’s bride." 21:10He
carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and shown me the
holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, 21:11having the glory of God. Her light was
like a most precious stone, as if it was a jasper stone, clear as crystal; 21:12having a great and high wall; having
twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels; and names written on them, which
are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel. 21:13On the east were three gates; and on the
north three gates; and on the south three gates; and on the west three gates. 21:14The wall of the city had twelve
foundations, and on them twelve names of the twelve Apostles of the Lamb. 21:15He who spoke with me had for a measure a
golden reed to measure the city, its gates, and its walls. 21:16The city lies foursquare, and its length
is as great as its breadth. He measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand stadia. Its length, breadth, and
height are equal. 21:17He measured
its wall, one hundred forty-four cubits, by the
measure of a man, that is, of an angel. 21:18The
construction of its wall was jasper. The city was pure gold, like pure glass. 21:19The foundations of the city’s wall were
adorned with all kinds of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper; the
second, sapphire; the third, chalcedony; the fourth, emerald; 21:20the fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius;
the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, topaz; the tenth,
chrysoprasus; the eleventh, jacinth; and the twelfth, amethyst. 21:21The twelve gates were twelve pearls. Each
one of the gates was made of one pearl. The street of the city was pure gold,
like transparent glass. 21:22I saw
no temple in it, for the Lord God, the Almighty, and the Lamb, are its temple. 21:23The city has no need for the sun, neither
of the moon, to shine, for the very glory of God illuminated it, and its lamp
is the Lamb. 21:24The nations will
walk in its light. The kings of the earth bring their glory into it. 21:25Its gates will in no way be shut by day
(for there will be no night there), 21:26and
they will bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it. 21:27There will in no way enter into it
anything profane, or one who causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who
are written in the Lamb’s book of life.
22:1He
showed me a river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the
throne of God and of the Lamb, 22:2in
the midst of its street. On this side of the river and on that was the tree of
life, bearing twelve kinds of fruits, yielding its fruit every month. The
leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. 22:3There will be no curse any more. The throne
of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will serve him. 22:4They will see his face, and his name will
be on their foreheads. 22:5There
will be no more night, and they need no lamp light, neither sunlight; for the
Lord God will give them light. They will reign forever and ever.
It should be noted that in the descriptions pertaining to the holy city, Jerusalem coming out of heaven from Yahweh, it isn't stated that there will be no sun or moon. It is stated that there will be no NEED for sun or moon to shine in or upon the city. For the glory of Yahweh illuminates the city, a glory superseding in intensity the light of the sun. And as Yahweh will permanently be there, manifesting his glory, there indeed will be no darkness, and therefore no night, seeing that darkness is called Night, as Genesis 1:3-5 shows.
Noting Yahweh's words in Jeremiah 31, concerning his ordinances with the sun and the moon, it seems to me that sun and moon will continue to exist and give their respective lights. Only that their lights will have been rendered unnecessary in the holy city, on account of the presence of both Yahweh and the Lamb, and the manifestation of their glory in the city. But outside the holy city the sun and the moon will indeed continue to perform their light giving functions, and those of separating the day from the night.
Zion - Yahweh's Earthly Reference
Point
Psalm 50:1-6 reads,
50:1The
Mighty One, God, Yahweh, speaks,
And calls the earth from sunrise to sunset.
50:2Out
of Zion, the perfection of beauty,
God shines forth.
50:3Our
God comes, and does not keep silent.
A fire devours before him.
It is very tempestuous around him.
50:4He
calls to the heavens above,
To the earth, that he may judge his people:
50:5"Gather
my saints together to me,
Those who have made a covenant with me by sacrifice."
50:6The
heavens shall declare his righteousness,
For God himself is judge.
It should be noted that 50:1 implies that there is indeed ONE sunrise and ONE sunset for the ENTIRE earth. For Yahweh calls to the earth - the entire earth - from one sunrise and one sunset, rather than calling to different regions of the earth with their different sunrises and sunsets. It therefore appears that when Yahweh is addressing the entire earth he has a specific sunrise and sunset location that is his reference point.
50:2 shows that Yahweh's earthly reference point, for purposes of sunrise and sunset, is ZION! Zion is therefore the reference point for determining Yahweh's days and nights that are applicable for the entire earth! In other words, the LIGHT Yahweh created as seen in Genesis 1:3-5, that determines day and night for the entire earth irrespective of the existence of land mass or other geographical location, is synchronised with sunrise and sunset at Zion!
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