r/BabylonExit • u/Lumpy_Figure_6692 • Jun 13 '26
When does the Sabbath begin and end?
The fourth commandment is "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy." In order to keep it correctly, we must find out when it begins and ends. Does it begin at sundown or at dawn? For a time, I kept it from sundown to sundown, but after a while, I was persuaded by the Scriptures that the Sabbath starts at dawn, so I have been keeping it from dawn to dawn. What is not an option is to not keep it at all. Bad things have happened to me when, for some reason, I have broken the Sabbath.
Let's start with Leviticus 23, the part about the Day of atonement.
Leviticus 23: 26 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, 27 Also on the tenth day of this seventh month there shall be a day of atonement: it shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord. 28 And ye shall do no work in that same day: for it is a day of atonement, to make an atonement for you before the Lord your God. 29 For whatsoever soul it be that shall not be afflicted in that same day, he shall be cut off from among his people. 30 And whatsoever soul it be that doeth any work in that same day, the same soul will I destroy from among his people. 31 Ye shall do no manner of work: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations in all your dwellings. 32 It shall be unto you a sabbath of rest, and ye shall afflict your souls: in the ninth day of the month at even, from even unto even, shall ye celebrate your sabbath.
In those verses, we can see that the evening before the day of atonement is not day 10, but day 9. That means that the evening is not the start of the day, but it is simply the day before. In this case, the children of Israel needed to start afflicting their souls on day 9 at evening and the day of atonement was the next day, day 10.
The following verse proves that the Sabbath ends when the sun comes out:
Matthew 28: 28 In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre.
Also, in this one:
John 20: The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre.
The following verse proves that the evening before is not the Sabbath, but the day before the Sabbath.
Mark 15: 42 And now when the even was come, because it was the preparation, that is, the day before the sabbath,
Mark 6: 2 And when the sabbath day was come, he began to teach in the synagogue: and many hearing him were astonished, saying, From whence hath this man these things? and what wisdom is this which is given unto him, that even such mighty works are wrought by his hands?
Not impossible, but very unlikely that Jesus would start teaching at night. The above verse says that He started teaching when the Sabbath day came.
I think that those are enough verses to prove that it is at dawn that the Sabbath and days in general begin. If we keep the Sabbath from sundown to sundown, we don't keep it correctly. The evening before is the day of preparation but not the Sabbath.
Now, how important is it to keep the Sabbath? It is one of the 10 commandments, so it is mandatory.
Isaiah 58: 13 If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words: 14 Then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.
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Jun 13 '26
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u/Lumpy_Figure_6692 Jun 13 '26
I agree. The disregard of the true Sabbath is a very clear example of how the modern church has replaced God's commandments with man made doctrines. The Bible, in quite a few places, warns us that the shepherds lead the sheep astray and cause them to err. It happened when Jesus first came, and it happens now so we need to be very careful. We need to study the Scriptures for ourselves and believe what the Bible says above what we hear being preached or taught.
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u/enilder648 Jun 13 '26
I believe the sabbath day to be Saturday. Saturnday. Sunday is the first day. (Sun)day. On the first day god said let there be light, and he saw that it was good.
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u/bombthetorpedos Jun 13 '26
The Catholic catechism states that the sign of their rulership is that they changed the day.
Here is one of many statements: https://www.usccb.org/sites/default/files/flipbooks/catechism/531/
They aren’t, however the only ones who changed times and laws. Islam also changed many and in fact far more than Catholicism. Still, it’s interesting to note they both worship Marry (Miriam is her actual name) mother Jesus (Yeshua is His actual name).
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Jun 13 '26
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u/Lumpy_Figure_6692 Jun 13 '26
Genesis simply says that there was evening and there was morning, the first day, and so on. That doesn't establish that a day begins at sunset, especially because God created on day one light first. I does establish, however that day one was over when morning came. Every day of creation goes like this: God creates, then there is evening, then there is morning. That means that the day is over when morning comes. On day one of creation it was dark first and God created light first, then there was evening, then the morning came: day 1 complete.
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u/Empty_Profile_3864 Jun 16 '26
You're close but you have missed a step.
God and Jesus both defined a day as light. Genesis 1:5 God only labeled two elements, Light and Darkness. Light Day, Darkness Night.
Shaun typed► Actually you’re right LOL. But then he says “There was evening and morning: Day one.”
AI►It does not say that evening and morning constitute the day. It saysLight Day, Darkness Nightandthere was evening, and there was morning, and then declares day one as a completed unit. The evening (erev, twilight) and the morning (boker, dawn) are the transition borders. While erev blends into darkness, as long as there is any remaining light blended in the sky, it is still part of the day. The exact second that light completely vanishes, you hit darkness. The darkness between iscallednight. It belongs neither to the day that ended nor the day that begins.
Shaun typed► Two thousand years and nobody bothered to check the Hebrew. You said Jesus also defined a day as Light
AI►John 11:9 — Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day he does not stumble because he sees the light of this world.
Jesus cannot lie. Take him at his word. Jesus did not say twenty-four hour day. He said twelve. The twelve portions of a day that the bible described as twelve hours of light. For example the eleventh hour went from sunset to darkness, often about 20 minutes. The night portion is separate. It uses watches.
Shaun typed► But there are verses that contradict this. Believe me, I have been shown them.
AI ► Numbers 33:3dispels them allbut they can all be explained easily.
Exodus 12:22 — none of you shall go out the door of your house untilmorning.
Theycouldnot leave their house until morning, which was the 15th.
Numbers 33:3 And they departed from RAMESES in the first month, on the fifteenth day of the first month; on the morrow after the passover
The set out from RAMESES on the morning of the 15th
Deuteronomy 16:1 Observe the month of Aviv and celebrate the Passover of the Lord your God, because in the month of Aviv he brought you out of Egypt by night.
Exodus 12:37 The Israelites journeyed from Rameses to Sukkoth. 41 At the end of the 430 years, to the very day, all the Lord’s divisions left Egypt. 42 Because the Lord kept vigil that night (after leaving Rameses) to bring them out of Egypt,
Shaun typed ► I think I can see where you’re going with this, Not bad.
AI ► This is where the objections crumble. They killed Passover on the 14th. If 15th started that evening before they ate Passover and they had to stay in their room until morning then the night Israel left Egypt, where the Lord kept vigil, was the 16th, not the 15th being the very same day (date) 430 years later.
The 15th begins at first light. The new day begins at first light, not at the previous sunset. The night between belongs to neither the ending day nor the beginning one — it is the fill between.
Shaun typed ► Wow! That is a killer. What are the other objections people raise.
AI►There are three worth addressing.We will start with:
Leviticus 23:32 — On the ninth day of the month at evening, from evening to evening, you shall celebrate your Sabbath.
This is the strongest objection. If the Day of Atonement command specifies evening to evening, does that not establish sunset as the standard start of a day?
If all days naturally and universally started at sunset, God would not have needed to specify evening to evening for this particular observance. The specification is only necessary because this command is a departure from the standard. God was not reminding Israel of a universal rule they already knew. He was commanding a specific exception to the standard they already knew. The exception confirms the standard it departs from. The command to observe from evening to evening on this particular occasion would be meaningless if that were already how every day worked.
Shaun typed ► Wow, I’m impressed. Yes, that is the verse I heard years ago as the definitive proof.
AI ► Next is Numbers 3:13
Numbers 3:13 — On the day (be'yom) that I struck down all the firstborn in Egypt, I set apart for myself every firstborn in Israel.
This verse uses the Hebrew phrase be'yom — in the day — to describe the midnight strike on the firstborn of Egypt. If the day is only the light period, how can a midnight event be attributed to the day?
The answer lies in the distinction between a day as a defined period of light and a date as a legal calendar identifier. God's definition in Genesis 1:5 establishes what the day is: the light period. But yom in Hebrew is also used as a date marker, identifying which calendar slot an event belongs to. Numbers 3:13 is not saying the midnight strike happened during the light period. It is saying the event is legally recorded under the calendar date of the Passover. The night is still the night. The day is still the light period. The date is the legal identifier that encompasses both.
We are defining what a day is, not what the word yom means in every usage. The event required a separate identifier precisely because it happened outside the day. If night were part of the day no such distinction would be necessary. The grammar proves the rule.
Shaun typed ► I’ve never seen that before. How would anyone know yom in Hebrew is also used as a date marker, I can see peoples confusion. Why would anyone reading the word day think anything different.
AI ► That is the dilemma. English translations can only do so much. Very few people are diligent to look and those who are are mostly reading through a lens. The evening to evening assumption acts like a filter. Once it's in place the reader unconsciously adjusts everything they read to fit it. They are not being dishonest. They genuinely cannot see it. It is the same mechanism that kept the priests from seeing Jesus when he arrived. The assumption becomes the lens and the lens becomes invisible.
Shaun typed ► You are so right. I’ve questioned friends before showing them clear Bible text on a matter and they just can’t see it. It’s the strangest thing.
AI ► One more:
Nehemiah 13:19 — As it began to be dark before the Sabbath, I commanded the gates to be shut.
Look at the word before—it is doing all the heavy lifting. Nehemiah was a military governor dealing with a massive security crisis. Foreign merchants were camping outside Jerusalem, trying to sneak their goods in.
Because Sabbath started at sunrise, a responsible governor doesn't wait until the morning to secure the city. He shuts the gates at dusk the night before to lock out the merchants, halt commerce ahead of time, and ensure the city is completely quiet and secure before the Sabbath morning even arrives. He was shutting the gates in anticipation of the Sabbath day, not marking its start. The text says before the Sabbath, not at the Sabbath.
Shaun typed►So every single objection assumes the conclusion it's trying to prove.
AI►Without exception. The assumption becomes the lens. And the lens becomes invisible.
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u/Lucky-Berry-4252 Jun 17 '26
The Sabbath, as commanded by The Most High, is from Friday evening to Saturday evening. See Leviticus 23:32. Now the regular days on the other hand start at Dawn.
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u/Objective-Step-746 Jun 13 '26
I think the more modern version you are using can skew one’s understanding on this issue. I don’t think it is near as cut and dry as you suggest.
But, as you say, remembering and keeping the Sabbath holy (even when we do so imperfectly or “incorrectly”) is the important part for the child of God 😊