How the Bible Defines a Day

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Men may decide that a day is twenty-four hours by the clock—but that is not what God says. We must understand why God could correctly describe Joshua’s approximately forty-eight hour day as one day.

In the creation chapter of Genesis 1:1-31, God gives His definition of a day. God says that He “divided the light from the darkness. And God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. And the evening (darkness) and the morning (light) were the first day.... And the evening (darkness) and the morning (light) were the second day.... And the evening and the morning were the third day” (Gen. 1:4-13) and so on through the first week. From this account, we see that days are comprised of evenings and mornings. Despite the common perception, a day is not merely the daylight portion of a twenty-four-hour period. It is, in fact, the entire period between sunsets.

This is the Bible definition of the length of a day! What could be more plain?

Further, we must go to Leviticus to see what God says is the starting point of each day. Notice that “from even unto even” (Lev. 23:32) is how God instructed that the Sabbath be observed. The word evening is derived from the word even. For several hundred years after the death of Christ, the general practice was always to begin days at sunset, not at midnight. Any encyclopaedia will explain this and Luke 4:40 and Mark 1:32 show that days begin and end at the time of sunset.

Joshua’s long day consisted of a twelve-hour evening and about a thirty-six-hour “morning.” But this did not make it two days—it was just one very long day.

Now we must restate a previous point. Remember that Christ was not confused about the Sabbath, and that He kept it on the proper day over 1,400 years after “Joshua’s long day.” To believe that the long day of Joshua altered the weekly cycle, thus losing a day, it is necessary to believe that Christ Himself did not adjust for this “long day.” Then one must believe that Christ was “off” by one full day in His calculation of which day was the Sabbath—and so were the Jews.

Now think! If Christ was incorrect in His calculation of the Sabbath, then He broke the Sabbath—Hesinned—and mankind has no Saviour! But Christ did not sin by breaking the Sabbath or in any other fashion. And mankind does have a Saviour.

Finally, it is interesting to note that even those who reference Joshua’s account always call it “Joshua’s long day”—not “Joshua’s long days.” The whole argument of trying to compress two days into one, to escape the command to keep the seventh day Sabbath (today’s Saturday), seems rather silly, doesn’t it? Do not be fooled by the clever arguments of men.

Can Days Be “Gained” or “Lost”?

Because the earth is round, days are determined by the rotation of the planet on its axis. This rotation is measured in relation to the sun. It is the same with the Sabbath. Sundown—at any given place on Earth—determines the beginning of the Sabbath or any other day. Whether one is in New York, Manila, or Paris is irrelevant. A day is from “even [sunset] unto even [sunset]” (Lev. 23:22). The beginning of any day is determined based on where someone is when the sun goes down.

The International Date Line was established so that men could know where their travels would require them to add or subtract a day—depending upon whether they were travelling east or west. Except for a couple of isolated South Pacific islands, this location was ideally placed in the middle of the Pacific Ocean because it does not permit people in different parts of the world to keep any day (including the Sabbath) on two different days. People in Japan start the Sabbath before those in India—who start it before people in Jerusalem—who start it before those in London—who start it before people in Chicago—who start it before those in Honolulu. However, all keep it on the same day!

Do not be confused by people who say that travelling around the world can cause one to “gain” or to “lose” days. Clever statements are often made about gaining hours while travelling west or losing them while travelling east. This is not reality, but rather a perception of reality.

Here’s how to prove it! If one starts in London and travels non-stop westward around the world, returning to London, will he arrive one full day behind everyone who never left London? Has he travelled backward in time and “gained” twenty-four hours? Conversely, if one did the same thing travelling non-stop eastward, would he arrive in London a day before everyone that had remained there? Has he travelled forward in time and actually “lost” twenty-four hours?

The idea is silly! Yet this is how some people reason. If this were true, two separate people, one travelling non-stop eastward and the other travelling non-stop westward, would both arrive in London at the same time and yet be two days apart in time. If two people did this over and over, one would become younger while the other would be aging at a faster rate. How ridiculous to consider this! Yet this argument fools some people.

There is a slightly different, but related, point to be considered. It seems that there are never-ending ways that people devise to believe time can be lost. What would have to happen—exactly—for time to truly be lost in such a way that the whole world would lose it? Another way of asking this question is: what would it take today for over six and one half billion people on Earth to all lose track of time?

We have all known people who forget where they are, fall asleep or “lose track of time,” when they are supposed to be somewhere or do something on a schedule. Perhaps this has happened to you several times. So, it is admitted that individuals can certainly “lose track of time.” However, someone would have to be knocked unconscious or fall into a coma to lose track of time so that, when they awaken, they are unable to know how much time has passed—days, weeks, months, or even years! But, they would merely ask how long they had been “out” and the answer would reorient them.

Let’s carry this further. What would be necessary for all people on Earth to lose track of time? The following would have to happen (I am being facetious): Simultaneously, everyone on Earth, for an extended period of time, would have to be knocked unconscious, fall asleep, or fall into a coma! Presumably, if everyone then regained consciousness, there would be no one left to ask how much time had passed while everyone else was “out cold.” If even one person remained conscious, he could tell everyone what had happened. Everyone would be re-oriented to the proper time.

Can you see the absurdity of such shallow, deceptive arguments about “gaining” or “losing” time?

The True Church Proves Time Has Not Been Lost

The true Church of God has always kept God’s Sabbath—Saturday. Just as Jews know the correct day, so also do true Christians.

Most theologians and religionists have long admitted that the true Sabbath of the Bible is the seventh day. However, they will not obey it. Saturday, not Sunday, is the seventh day of the week. Even a good dictionary explains this. You have already seen several scriptural references to the Sabbath. God hallowed it at creation—long before there were any Jews or Israelites to keep it.

God told ancient Israel, “Moreover also I gave them My sabbaths, to be a sign between Me and them, that they might know that I am the LORD that sanctify them” (Ezek. 20:12). One of the single greatest KEYS that identifies the true Church, the one founded by Jesus Christ, is the sign of God’s true Sabbath.

The quote, “More than the Jews having kept the Sabbath, the Sabbath has kept the Jews!” could as easily have been said of the true Church, which has been under siege throughout the ages—partly for keeping the Sabbath. The church at Rome, in A.D. 363, decreed the death sentence on all who continued to observe the Sabbath.

Christ kept the Sabbath. A Christian is one who follows—who copies—Jesus Christ’s example in his own life. His example was Sabbath observance! Therefore, for 2,000 years, the New Testament Church has always kept God’s Sabbath. The record of history is that God’s Church has remained faithful to the Sabbath command despite intense persecution. It has remained a sign between God and His people.

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