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In trying to find reasons for Sunday worship
observance, some people look to calendar changes.
Since it was changed in the English world in 1752, they
argue that we cannot know which day is the seventh.
"So to uphold the seventh day Sabbath on Saturday is
unreasonable." But is it?
The seventh day on our calendar is in the same
seven-day cycle as on the calendar of the orthodox Jew.
The cycle has been used for over 5,700 years. For
example, the year 1990 is 5750 on the Jewish calendar.
Today's Sabbath is in the same cycle that was used
when Jesus lived on the earth. The Sabbath always
falls on the seventh day of the week on our calendar.
What about calendar changes since Christ?
The Julian Calendar
The Julian calendar was introduced by Julius
Caesar in 46 B.C. This calendar had 365 days, with
every fourth year having 366 days, assuming that the
year was 365 1/4 days long.
The Gregorian Calendar
In 1582, under Gregory XIII, it was found that the
year is actually 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes, and 50
seconds long--11 minutes and 10 seconds less than the
Julian calculations. By 1582, this error had caused a
gain of ten days on the calendar.
After much study, it was decided to drop those ten
days. But this change did not affect the order of the
days of the week, only the dates of the days of the
month. The new Gregorian calendar was adopted in
October, 1582. It showed Thursday, October 4, followed
by Friday, October 15:
| October 1582 |
|---|
| Sun | Mon | Tue |
Wed | Thu | Fri |
Sab |
|---|
|
- | 1
| 2 |
3 | 4
| 15 |
16 | |
17 | 18
| 19 |
20 | 21
| 22 |
23 | |
24 | 25
| 26 |
27 | 28
| 29 |
30 | |
31 | - |
- |
- | - |
- |
- |
Have there been other changes?The English Calendar
In England, the change was not made until 1752. By that time, eleven
days had been gained. When the Gregorian calendar was adopted, eleven
days were dropped; and Wednesday, September 2, was followed by
Thursday, September 14. Here again, the dates of the month were
changed, but not the order of the days of the week.
| September 1752 |
|---|
| Sun | Mon | Tue |
Wed | Thu | Fri |
Sab |
|---|
|
- | - |
1 |
2 | 14 |
15 |
16 |
17 |
18 |
19 | 20 |
21 | 22 |
23 |
24 |
25 | 26 |
27 |
28 | 29 |
30 |
- |
- | - |
- |
- | - |
- |
W.J. Eckert of the Naval Observatory, director of
the Nautical Almanac, said, "The change from the Julian
to the Gregorian calendar in no way affected the weekly
cycle. This cycle has not been altered for as long as
records have been available."
What should our commitment be?
The Sabbath that Jesus honored was the Sabbath
that his fellow countrymen used. They had honored it
for centuries. It is the same Sabbath today! It is
the seventh day of each week on the calendars we now
use.
How far are we willing to follow Christ's example
in Sabbath observance?
The 7th Day of the Bible
IS
the 7th Day on the Calendar!
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