Through scripture we can prove the sabbath is in the morning and not at night. Many people believe that the sabbath starts at sun down and not sun rise.
2 Timothy 3
16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.
With that being said, let us use scripture and nothing else to prove this.
Matthew 27
47 From noon until three in the afternoon darkness came over all the land. 46 About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” (Which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”)
As we can see here the time of death is around 3pm. It has been dark since noon, which many will class as being somewhat unusual for this time of the day. But none the less 3pm at that time of the year is usually daylight. The skies have darkened because the son of man has just been killed.
Matthew 27
57 As evening approached, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who had himself become a disciple of Jesus. 58 Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus’ body, and Pilate ordered that it be given to him. (NIV)
This procedure would have taken some time to carry out as the two places were not right next to each other. Golgotha was outside the gates of Jerusalem and Pilates courters were inside heavily guarded by check points and centurions. But let us check the KJV to see if there is any difference in the scripture;
57 When the even was come, there came a rich man of Arimathaea, named Joseph, who also himself was Jesus’ disciple:
Very interesting, it states “even has come”, let’s cross reference this to the Greek (Matthew was written in Greek) word and find the true meaning.
Strongs 3798. opsios
Strong’s Concordance
opsios: evening
Original Word: ὄψιος, α, ον
Part of Speech: Adjective
Transliteration: opsios
Phonetic Spelling: (op’-see-os)
Definition: evening
Usage: late, evening.
Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance
evening
From opse; late; feminine (as noun) afternoon (early eve) or nightfall (later eve) — even(-ing, (-tide)).
Surprising isn’t it, from a little research we now know that late evening/nightfall has come, and Joseph has only gotten to Pilate to ask from the body of the messiah. Whereas the NIV is suggesting the evening wasn’t as near. You see, the difference of words, changes the importance of the scripture, it is imperative for us to check for ourselves.
1 Thessalonians 5:21 Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.
Mark 15
44 Pilate was surprised to hear that he was already dead. Summoning the centurion, he asked him if Jesus had already died. 45 When he learned from the centurion that it was so, he gave the body to Joseph.
The centurion would have had to ride a horse through the busy streets of Jerusalem, at the time of Passover, through the crowds and back, to confirm to Pilate of the Messiah’s death. Again, this would not have been a quick task.
46 So Joseph bought some linen cloth, took down the body, wrapped it in the linen, and placed it in a tomb cut out of rock. Then he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb.
Joseph now must go and purchase fine linen from the markets, while travellers are in Jerusalem on the Passover at night time, a somewhat troublesome and time consuming task.
Luke 23
55 The women who had come with Jesus from Galilee followed Joseph and saw the tomb and how his body was laid in it. 56 Then they went home and prepared spices and perfumes. But they rested on the Sabbath in obedience to the commandment.
Knowing what we know about the sabbath day, this is clearly explaining how this took the women all night to do. In verse 56, the women travelled all the way home, possibly purchased spices and prepared them. The above scripture is the NIV (new international version), notice how the scripture differs from the bible it was copied from. (King James version)
(KJV) 56 And they returned, and prepared spices and ointments; and rested the sabbath day according to the commandment.
It clearly stats “the sabbath day”.
Again this is a prime example of how scriptures are changed to mislead people.
Luke 16
And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him
This scripture completely proves, through the night they prepared the spices and ointments, but the following day they rested according to the commandment.
Luke 23
53 And he took it down, and wrapped it in linen, and laid it in a sepulcher that was hewn in stone, wherein never man before was laid. 54 And that day was the preparation, and the sabbath drew on.
“Drew on”, in this scripture, the word ‘epiphosko’ is used, lets see the translation from Greek.
Strongs 2020. epiphóskó
Strong’s Concordance
epiphóskó: to let shine, i.e. to dawn
Original Word: ἐπιφώσκω
Part of Speech: Verb
Transliteration: epiphóskó
Phonetic Spelling: (ep-ee-foce’-ko)
Definition: to let shine, to dawn
Usage: I dawn, am near commencing.
Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance
begin, dawn.
A form of epiphauo; to begin to grow light — begin to dawn, X draw on.
The same word is used to in Luke 23:54
GRK: καὶ σάββατον ἐπέφωσκεν
NAS: and the Sabbath was about to begin.
KJV: and the sabbath drew on.
INT: and Sabbath was coming on
It is used in direct correlation with the sabbath, this again, is undeniable proof!
John 19
38 And after this Joseph of Arimathaea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, besought Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus: and Pilate gave him leave. He came therefore and took the body of Jesus. 39 And there came also Nicodemus, which at the first came to Jesus by night, and brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pound weight. 40 Then took they the body of Jesus, and wound it in linen clothes with the spices, as the manner of the Jews is to bury.
As we can clearly read in verse 39, Nicodemus came to Jesus by night and joined everyone else who was burying him, if the sabbath had started at nightfall, then they were all breaking the commandment of YAH. Burying someone so loved would have taken a very long time, not to mention the amount of spices Nicodemus had brought with him.
Luke 1
And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him. 2 And very early in the morning the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun.
This again proves that the beginning of the day is at the rising of the sun not the setting of the sun. Many people are falsely led to believe that the sabbath starts at the setting of the sun the day before, this is completely incorrect. So, with all this taken into consideration, it is without a doubt and irrefutable that the sabbath is from sun rise and does not start from sunset. If the sabbath started from sunset, wouldn’t all the disciples of the Messiah be breaking the commandment of YAH, surely they knew exactly how to worship on the sabbath being so close to ‘Jesus’.
Finally, something I find beautiful I thought I would leave with you.
Revelation 22
5 There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.
Revelation 21
23 The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp
Isaiah 60
19 No longer will the sun be your light by day, nor the brightness of the moon shine on your night; for the LORD will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your splendour.
20 Your sun will no longer set, and your moon will not wane; for the LORD will be your everlasting light, and the days of your sorrow will cease.
From the prophecies in Isaiah to the end days of revelations the heavenly father has explained that the sun and moon will be no more. They are there to serve a purpose to his people, they are exactly what he said they are in Genesis 14; And God said, let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years.
When Yah ends this wicked world as we know it, his laws will cease to exist as the Messiah in Matthew confirms this very thing.
Matthew 5
18 For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.
Remember the fourth commandment, it is to keep the sabbath day, the moon is our guidance to that, once we are in our heavenly fathers kingdom, we no longer need to keep the obedience of the 10 commandments, so the need of the heavenly luminaries are void.
Q. If the Messiah ‘done away’ with the sabbath, by nailing it to the cross with his death, then why did his closest followers continue to practice the sabbath after his death? Interesting, isn’t it?