Program 65When Does the Day Begin in Scripture?* * *

Welcome to WLC Radio, a subsidiary of World’s Last Chance Ministries, an online ministry dedicated to learning how to live in constant readiness for the Savior's return.

For two thousand years, believers of every generation have longed to be the last generation. Contrary to popular belief, though, Christ did not give believers “signs of the times” to watch for. Instead, he repeatedly warned that his coming would take even the faithful by surprise. Yahushua urgently warned believers to be ready because, he said, “The Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” [Matthew 24:44]

WLC Radio: Teaching minds and preparing hearts for Christ's sudden return.

* * *Part 1: (Miles & Dave)

Miles Robey: Hello and welcome to WLC Radio! Have we got an interesting topic today! I’m your host, Miles Robey.

Dave Wright: And I’m Dave Wright. Thanks for tuning in!

Miles: Have you heard of the twins that were born in different years?

Dave: Uh … is this some kind of joke?

Miles: No! No, it’s true. Sawyer Shay was born in Glendale, Arizona, in the United States on December 31, 2016, at 11:50 p.m. His brother, Everett, was born the next year, 2017, at 12:01 a.m., on January first!

Dave laughs: That’s going to be fun to explain in the years ahead!

Miles: Yeah. Kind of fun for Sawyer. He can claim to be a year older than his brother. Not so fun for Everett.

The thing is: it’s totally arbitrary! Who decided a day should start in the middle of the night?

Dave: If you’ve joined us before, you know that we prefer to use the personal name of the Creator, which is Yahuwah, or Yah. The Son’s name is Yahushua, which means, of course, “Yahuwah saves.”

Miles: You might hear us occasionally say el, or eloah. Those are Hebrew titles that refer to Yahuwah. Elohim is the plural and refers to the Father. It’s a way, in ancient Hebrew, of emphasizing His importance.

Dave: You know, your story of the Shay twins, born on different days, in different months, in different years is fun to laugh about.

Miles: It’ll certainly be a great conversation starter when they get older!

Dave chuckles: It really will. But you were right – it’s completely arbitrary! And the Shay twins can claim to be born on different days simply because, on the calendar we now use, days start at midnight.

Miles: Where does that come from? Who decided a “day” actually starts in the middle of the night?

Dave: Well, I don’t have a name, but different cultures have started their days at different times.

The ancient Egyptians started their day at sunrise.

Miles: Well, makes sense. They were sun worshippers.

Dave: Both Babylon and Greece started their days at sunset.

Miles: That’s so weird. It’s just counterintuitive to start a “day” at sunset!

Dave: Days on our modern calendar start at midnight, because that’s what the Romans did.

Most people know that the Jews today start their Sabbaths when the sun sets on Friday evening.

Miles: Right. They keep their Sabbath from sunset Friday, to sunset Saturday.

Dave: And, unfortunately, most Protestants who worship on Saturday also start their Sabbath observance at sunset for no other reason than that’s when the Jews do it.

Miles, simultaneously with Dave: That’s when the Jews do it.

Dave: What most people don’t know, though, is that the Jewish practice of starting the day at sunset actually began when the Jews were in apostasy!

Miles scoffs: How ironic! One of the main practices that sets the Jews apart as different—

Dave interjects: –And which are copied by non-Jews wanting to worship on the seventh-day Sabbath!

Miles: And it isn’t even a legit Israelite practice!

Dave: It’s not! They adopted it from paganism. Some pagans started at noon, others at sunrise, still others at sunset. And, again, the Romans started at midnight.

Miles: So, back before the Israelites apostatized, for example, during the time of Moses, when did the Israelites start their day?

Dave: At dawn.

Miles: No way! At dawn? Seriously?

Dave: Seriously. That’s when the day starts in Scripture. Why don’t you grab your Bible and let’s look at the evidence. And for our listeners, this is more than just an unimportant bit of trivia. Everything Satan has warped, everything he’s changed and hidden, has always been for a purpose.

But when you pull together the weight of evidence spread through Scripture, a day begins at dawn and ends at dusk.

Miles: You’re saying dawn. Do you mean sunrise?

Dave: No. Dawn.

Let’s take a moment to define our terms. Would you read Jeremiah 31, verse 35 for us?

Miles: Sure! Give me just a sec … “Thus saith Yahuwah, which giveth the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, which divideth the sea when the waves thereof roar; Yahuwah of hosts is his name.”

Dave: The sun was given to rule the day; the moon and the stars to rule the night. In other words, a day begins prior to sunrise. It begins with the gentle dawning of light, when the stars disappear.

A night begins with the coming of darkness, when the stars begin to appear, so this is after sunset.

Miles: You know, this actually makes more sense than a “day” beginning at sunset. That’s always struck me as so counter intuitive. Why would you start a “day” when the night begins?

But now what about calendar dates? When the day starts at dawn, how do you figure the date?

Dave: Same way you do on the Gregorian calendar: you recognize that a calendar date is not synonymous with a day.

A calendar date includes both the day and the night. It’s just that, on the Biblical calendar, the date begins at dawn. A day is only the first half of the calendar date, while the night is the second half.

Miles: Actually, that makes more sense than arbitrarily splitting the night in half and saying half the night belongs to one date, and half the night belongs to another date.

Dave: The Creator’s calendar makes so much sense. It’s an incredibly elegant, very accurate method of time-keeping. But, yeah. Satan has got us off on when a day begins, too!

But when you look at the evidence in Scripture, you’re going to come to a profound conclusion: day and night are totally opposite of each other, and are two distinctly different periods, never occupying the same space of time.

But let’s go back and start at the very beginning with Creation week. Would you turn to Genesis 1 and read the first five verses for us. If we had no other Scripture to prove when a day began, this alone would prove the day starts with the coming of light at dawn.

Miles: “In the beginning Elohim created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of Eloah moved upon the face of the waters. And Elohim said, Let there be light: and there was light. And Elohim saw the light, that it was good: and Elohim divided the light from the darkness. And Elohim called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.”

Dave: So, the first thing created was …?

Miles: Light.

Dave: What was there before the light?

Miles: Well, it was just dark. “Darkness was upon the face of the deep.”

Dave: To claim that the “day” actually starts in the evening is ridiculous! Think about it for a moment: everything is dark and Elohim says: “Let there be light.” Then what happened?

Miles: There was light!

Dave: Yeah, but if the day began at nighttime, was the first day of Creation only 12 hours long? Or did Elohim say, “Let there be light,” and then explain: “This is day one starting now. Just be patient and in 12 hours we’ll actually get ourselves some light?”

Or did Elohim say, “Let there be light,” and then, retroactively, declare that the previous 12 hours had actually been part of the day?

Miles laughs: I see what you’re saying. It just doesn’t make sense, does it?

Dave: It really doesn’t. Read verse 5 again.

Miles: “And Elohim called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.”

Dave: See, he’s even naming it here: He called the light day, and the darkness He called night.

Miles: Yeah, that makes a lot more sense. But then how do you explain the last phrase: “And the evening and the morning was the first day”? Wouldn’t that suggest that it starts at night?

Dave: Right after He named the light “day”? No.

What it’s explaining here is what constitutes a complete 24-hour period. Or a complete date. You start with the light; that’s the day. You go through the day and finally come to the dark. That’s the night. Then you circle on back around to the next morning and you’ve got a complete 24-hour period. This is how calendar dates are determined in Scripture.

Miles: I see. So the night carries the date of the day that precedes it.

Dave: Exactly. And you find that in Scripture. When the night hours are given a date, the night carries the date of the day that preceded it.

Miles: Can you give us an example?

Dave: All right. Let’s take a look at Passover. Now, the traditional understanding, based on our modern calendar, is that Passover occurred on a Thursday night and the Israelites left Egypt on a Friday morning. This goes along with the assumptions made about the crucifixion. People have assumed that the Last Supper occurred on a Thursday evening, with Christ being crucified the next morning.

Miles: Yeah, but we know this is impossible because the luni-solar calendar of Scripture does not have a continuous weekly cycle. The weekly cycle restarts every month, so there is no “Thursday” and “Friday” on the Biblical calendar.

Dave: Right. But it’s more than that. This understanding has been based on the fact that Jews today start their Sabbath observance Friday evening at sunset. So, people have extrapolated from that to assume Passover was Thursday night.

But let’s see what the Bible says. Turn to Exodus 12. This is where Yah gave Moses instructions on how to observe the Passover.

They were to take a lamb, kill it, and paint its blood on the lintel and doorposts as a sign to the destroying angel. Then they were to eat the Passover meal. But Moses gave them very special instructions that, in our assumptions, we tend to over look. Read verses 21 and 22 of Exodus 12, would you please?

Miles: “Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel, and said unto them, Draw out and take you a lamb according to your families, and kill the passover. And ye shall take a bunch of hyssop, and dip it in the blood that is in the bason, and strike the lintel and the two side posts with the blood that is in the bason; and none of you shall go out at the door of his house until the morning.”

Dave: Okay. They were not to go out of their houses until morning. This is a huge piece of the puzzle, showing the Israelites understood the day to start at dawn, and the night carried the date of the day that preceded it.

Now, turn over to Numbers 33 and read verse 3.

Miles: “And they departed from Rameses in the first month, on the fifteenth day of the first month; on the morrow after the passover the children of Israel went out with an high hand in the sight of all the Egyptians.”

Dave: This verse gives an actual calendar date. They left Egypt on the fifteenth of Abib, the first month. Both Exodus 12 and Leviticus 23 give us the date of Passover, and that’s Abib 14. So, the Israelites left on the 15^th.

Now, last verse. Read Deuteronomy 16, verse 1. Remember:

• Passover was eaten on the 14^th.
• They were not to leave their homes until morning.
• And, they left on the 15^th of the month.

What does Deuteronomy 16:1 say?

Miles: “Observe the month of Abib, and keep the passover unto Yahuwah thy Eloah: for in the month of Abib Yahuwah thy Eloah brought thee forth out of Egypt by night.”

Dave: By night! The Israelites left Egypt at night!

Now, what is confusing to a lot of people is that Passover was indeed the day before the seventh-day Sabbath. Yahushua was crucified on the sixth day of the week, the day before the Sabbath. He was the lamb of Yah that taketh away the sins of the world. So, He was crucified on the Passover, the sixth day of the week.

What is important for our listeners to understand is that, on the Biblical luni-solar calendar, the 14^th of every months always falls on the sixth day of the week, and the 15^th is always a seventh-day Sabbath.

Miles: Yeah, because the weekly cycle restarts every month.

Dave: So let’s put the evidence together:

• Deuteronomy 16, verse 1 states the Israelites left Egypt at night.
• Now, we know this could not have been Passover night as many have assumed, because Exodus 12, verse 22 says that no one is to leave their homes until the morning.
• This is confirmed by Numbers 33, verse 3, which gives the actual date they left Egypt: “the fifteenth day of the first month.”

Miles: So you’re saying, the day of Passover, which we know was always on the 14^th, and always the sixth day of the week, began at dawn and did not end until dawn of the next day, the 15^th.

Dave: Correct.

Miles: But even when it was dawn and they could leave their houses, they still didn’t go? Why didn’t they finally leave? You’re saying they hung around until that night?

Dave: Yes. Remember, on the luni-solar calendar, the 15^th is always a Sabbath. Yah would not break His own Sabbaths by having them leave Egypt during the sacred hours of the day. That’s why He led them out when the sacred hours of the Sabbath were over that night.

Miles: Okay. I can see that. But that just raises even more questions. We’re going to take a quick break, and then I’ve got some questions for you.

Dave: Sure!

* * *Part 2: (Miles & Dave)

Miles: All right. I think Scripture makes it clear: Passover is always on the 14^th of Abib, the first month. The Israelites were to stay in their homes until morning. But then they, what? Just sat around and waited until night fall? What was going on during those hours?

Dave: They were keeping the Sabbath holy, but more than that, the Egyptians were coming to them, giving them gifts, and urging them to get out.

If you’ve still got your Bible open to Exodus 12, read verses 30 to 36.

Miles: “And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he, and all his servants, and all the Egyptians; and there was a great cry in Egypt; for there was not a house where there was not one dead. And he called for Moses and Aaron by night, and said, Rise up, and get you forth from among my people, both ye and the children of Israel; and go, serve Yahuwah, as ye have said.”

Dave: I’m going to interrupt right here. Sure, Pharaoh “called for Moses and Aaron by night,” but after this incredible display of divine power, after having explicitly told the people to stay inside until morning, do you really think that Moses and Aaron would have disobeyed Yah’s command just to obey Pharaoh?

Miles scoffs: Of course not!

Dave: Obviously not.

Okay. Keep reading.

Miles: “And the Egyptians were urgent upon the people, that they might send them out of the land in haste; for they said, We be all dead men. And the people took their dough before it was leavened, their kneadingtroughs being bound up in their clothes upon their shoulders. And the children of Israel did according to the word of Moses; and they borrowed of the Egyptians jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment: And Yahuwah gave the people favour in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they lent unto them such things as they required. And they spoiled the Egyptians.”

Dave: The fact that the Israelites did not leave the night of Passover is clear from this verse. The next morning, they’re still there! This is why the Egyptians were, quote “urgent upon the people.”

The Egyptians are going: “What are you still doing here? Go on! Get out! Please! Here: Take this gold; take these jewels. Just get out!”

Miles: But they didn’t until that night.

Dave: Right.

Miles: So are you saying that the sacred hours of the Sabbath do not encompass a complete, 24-hour period?

Dave: That’s correct.

I know! This is a complete paradigm shift. But it’s supported in Scripture.

Miles: All right, but what about that verse that says “from evening unto evening shall you celebrate your Sabbath?” That seems pretty conclusive, don’t you think?

Dave: I’m glad you asked that. You’re right. This is the verse that is used to support a sunset to sunset Sabbath observance.

The problem is, it’s a prime example of what happens when you base a belief on a verse that’s taken out of context. Turn to Leviticus 23 and let’s see what that verse says when it’s read in context.

Miles: Okay. I’ve got Leviticus 23. What verse?

Dave: Let’s read all of verses 26 through 32.

Leviticus 23 is the chapter that lists all of Yahuwah’s feasts. The very first feast listed is the weekly, seventh-day Sabbath. From there, it goes on and gives the dates of the yearly feasts and how they are to be celebrated. This is the context of that statement you quoted. All right, go ahead and read starting at verse 26. It’s a little long, but it’s important to get the context.

Miles: “And Yahuwah spake unto Moses, saying … 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 Yahuwah.

“And ye shall do no work in that same day: for it is a day of atonement, to make an atonement for you before Yahuwah your Eloah. For whatsoever soul it be that shall not be afflicted in that same day, he shall be cut off from among his people.

“And whatsoever soul it be that doeth any work in that same day, the same soul will I destroy from among his people. Ye shall do no manner of work: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations in all your dwellings. 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.”

Dave: So, in context, what’s it talking about here? Specifically?

Miles: Well, how to observe the Day of Atonement.

Dave: Right. Nothing is mentioned here about the weekly Sabbath. We’re talking only about Day of Atonement, one of the yearly feasts. It is to be a 24-hour observation, and it’s supposed to start the evening before.

Now, here again, we have proof that a “day” starts with the dawning of light. It does not start at evening.

Miles: How do you get that from this?

Dave: Well, take a look at verse 32 again. It gives us the date on which we are to begin our observance of Day of Atonement. What does it say?

Miles: “In the ninth day of the month at even, from even unto even, shall ye celebrate your sabbath.”

Dave: There is no question that the Day of Atonement is always observed on the tenth day of the seventh month. That is the date for this annual feast. Now, if Yahuwah considered that the day started at sunset anyway, why did He mention the ninth of the month? If, at evening, a new day begins, it would not still be the ninth. It would already be the tenth.

Miles: Oh, I see what you’re saying. If the day really began at “even” then the evening of any given date, is when that date begins, not ends. So if the day began at “even”, He would have said, “In the tenth day of the month at even, from even unto even, shall ye celebrate your sabbath.”

But He didn’t. Instead, He said, “in the ninth day of the month at even.” Obviously, the evening of the ninth was still considered part of the ninth, not the tenth.

Dave: Precisely. You’ve got it.

Miles: What a—wow! What a mind-bender. I’ve got to say, starting a “day” at nighttime has always seemed weird to me. It’s counter intuitive to say the day is beginning just as it’s actually ending.

I’ve got a question, though. You kind of touched on it before, but let’s talk about this. We know that a day begins with the dawn. We also know from Numbers 33:3 the date the Israelites left Egypt: the fifteenth.

On the Biblical calendar, the 15^th is always a weekly Sabbath.

We also know from Deuteronomy 15, verse 1, that the Israelites left Egypt by night. This is a bit troublesome because we know that Yahuwah never breaks His own laws. And yet, I can’t see Him having the Israelites carry all their belongings, driving all their flocks and herds with them, on the Sabbath.

I mean, moving is hard work!

Dave: You’re right. Yah wouldn’t do that. Some people try to say that if Yah commands it, it’s all right. As the “law giver” He can break His own laws.

But that’s just not how Yahuwah operates! He is the lawgiver. As such, He never breaks His own laws. So again, you’re right. There has to be some other explanation for why He would lead them out on the 15^th, which we know on the luni-solar calendar, is always a Sabbath.

The answer is amazingly simple, but it’s also a brand new paradigm. And that is: the sacred hours of the Sabbath are the daylight hours only.

Miles: So you’re saying there is no 24-hour Sabbath.

Dave: That’s exactly what I’m saying.

Miles: So, the Israelites left Egypt on the 15^th, the night following the day of the 15th, but the Sabbath hours were over.

Dave: It sounds crazy, I know. It’s opposite anything we’ve ever been taught, and it’s certainly not what the Jews today do. However, it’s true and I can prove it from Scripture.

Miles: All right! [Laughs.] Go for it! I want to hear this.

Dave: Let’s start with the fourth commandment. Read—or, if you’ve got it memorized, just say it—Exodus 20, verse 8. Just that verse. Not the rest of the fourth commandment.

Miles: “Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.”

Dave: “Remember the Sabbath … day … to keep it holy.”

I really like my King James Version of the Bible. Any time it supplies a word, it puts it in italics so you can know that it’s been added.

When you look up Exodus 20, verse 8, there are no supplied words. Every word translated into English is there in the original Hebrew. “Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.”

We read this and we simply assume that it’s talking about a complete 24-hour period here. But that’s not what it’s saying. We are to remember the Sabbath day to keep holy.

So why have we made such assumptions? Let’s take a look at John 11, and read verses 9 and 10.

Miles: “Yahushua answered, Are there not twelve hours in the day? If any man walk in the day, he stumbleth not, because he seeth the light of this world. But if a man walk in the night, he stumbleth, because there is no light in him.”

Dave: “Are there not 12 hours in the day.” Interesting question, wouldn’t you say? And notice: no one argued with Him!

Here is someone who, every single word he says is always wrangled over and argued about, and yet, when He says that there are only 12 hours in a “day,” no one argues with Him!

To the Israelites, a “day” was the daylight hours only. Night was when it got dark.

Now, here’s another question for you. If a day starts at sunset when it starts to get dark, when does a night begin?

Miles: Uhhh … [laughs] Well, that’s a very good question! I don’t know.

Dave: They can’t both start at the same time, or they would be the same.

Miles: True.

Dave: The Israelites weren’t idiots. They had the words for day and for night and they used them when appropriate. Read Psalm 104 verses 19 and 20.

Miles: “He appointed the moon for seasons: the sun knoweth his going down. Thou makest darkness, and it is night: wherein all the beasts of the forest do creep forth.”

Dave: According to these verses, night begins when it starts to get dark. Now, let’s see what the Bible says for when a day begins. Read Judges 16, verses one and two.

Miles: “Then went Samson to Gaza, and saw there an harlot, and went in unto her. And it was told the Gazites, saying, Samson is come hither. And they compassed him in, and laid wait for him all night in the gate of the city, and were quiet all the night, saying, In the morning, when it is day, we shall kill him.”

Dave: There’s your definition. “In the morning, when it is day.” We’ve got to take Scripture just as it reads. We have to stop reading into Scripture what isn’t there. When we do this, it plays right into Satan’s hands.

* * *Mid-point call letters:

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* * *Daily Mailbag (Miles & Dave)

Miles: Today’s Daily Mailbag question comes from Ana Maria Cardoso in Fortaleza, Brazil. She says: “Dear Dave and Miles, What is the best way to approach unsaved family members with the gospel? Do you have any suggestions on how to find common ground with an unbelieving relative?”

Dave: Hmm. That can be tricky. Often, the ones nearest and dearest are the most difficult to reach because, out of anyone in the world, they can discern if our beliefs have really changed us, or whether it’s just a façade of righteousness.

Miles: That’s the truth!

Dave: The word “gospel” as any Christian knows, means “good news.” And that’s exactly what it is! It’s good news! And when we have good news, what do we want to do? We want to share it!

Miles: We can’t help it. It just flows out.

Dave: I’ve heard Christians talk about how difficult it is to witness, and they just don’t know what to say. I would like to suggest that if you find yourself in that position, you need to worry less about witnessing for the moment and worry more about spending more time on your knees and in the word of Yah. When you know the gospel so well, when you are so full of the joy of Yahuwah that you just can’t contain it, it will, as you said, just flow out of you. You won’t need to artificially create opportunities to share.

Miles: I just want to insert: obviously any attempt to share or witness should always begin with prayer. It doesn’t mean you have to interrupt your conversation and say, “Let’s bow our heads for a word of prayer,” but it does mean that morning during your personal devotion time, you’ve already prayed and asked for an opening, as well as the words to say.

Dave: And don’t forget: praying that the other person will have a heart softened to receive the words we’re given.

You’re right: prayer is of the most importance. Otherwise, we’ll simply be depending on our own efforts and wisdom. With that said, I think it’s important to point out that ultimately, we’re just the mouthpiece for Yah. His spokesman, if you will. It’s not our job to convict someone. That’s the Holy Spirit’s job. It is our job simply to be filled with the spirit of Yah so that as He brings us opportunities, we can follow His guidance in when and what to say.

Miles: Is there any particular thing you can say that would open up a conversation about the person’s salvation?

Dave: No, there’s not. Because each person, each individual situation is so different. And even if, in my own wisdom, I came up with a line, I wouldn’t want to proffer it as The Best Way to introduce friends and family to the Saviour. That would be doing the work of the Holy Spirit for Yah.

Yahuwah will give you the words to say to reach the individual. Remember, each one of us has baggage. Each one of us has a mind that requires a unique approach, and Yah knows what approach is best to take with which person. We can leave that up to Him.

However, you can guide a conversation onto spiritual matters.

Miles: How?

Dave: Just ask questions. Like, for example, “What do you think of this crazy weather we’ve been having lately? Have you ever known it to be so extreme?”

The increasing number of tragedies, both nationally and internationally, provide lots of opportunities for people to start thinking about their own mortality and you can use that as a springboard into deeper conversations.

Miles: What about any Bible verses that you could suggest for using when witnessing? Something that encapsulates the gospel message the best?

Dave: My personal favorite is John 3:16 to 17. It’s well known, and it summarizes the gospel clearly and beautifully.

Miles: “For Yah so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”

Dave: See? You already have it memorized. Most Christians do.

But that’s just verse 16. Verse 17 is just as powerful, especially if the person with whom you are sharing has any fear of the Father. It goes: “For Yah sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him, might be saved.”

Another passage is found in Romans 10. Why don’t you turn there and read verses 9 to 13?

Miles: “If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Yahushua, and shalt believe in thine heart that Yahuwah hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

“For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Eloah over all is rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of Yahuwah shall be saved.”

Dave: We have to keep a balance. On the one hand no one is going to regret putting themselves out there to share the gospel. Someone once risked rejection to share truth with us, so now we, too, have an obligation to share with others.

At the same time, we don’t want to ever cram religion down someone’s throat. There is no quicker way to ensure that they’ll start avoiding you, than to bring up their salvation every time you see them.

The most important way we can witness is simply to live out the principles of love that Yahushua demonstrated. This means, that when a family member stumbles into sin or any other difficulty, we reach out in love to help. We don’t use it as an opportunity to preach to them, wrapping our robes of pharisaical pride around ourselves.

It means that in every encounter we have with the other person, they don’t see us. They don’t see me. They don’t see you. Instead, all they see is Yahushua, because He is living in us “both to will and to do according to His good pleasure.” [See Philippians 2:13.]

Miles: That’s the best way to witness to anyone, family member, friend, or stranger.

We’re out of time for today, but keep sending us your questions and comments. Go to WorldsLastChance.com and click on Contact Us. We always look forward to receiving your messages.

* * *Daily Promise:

Hello! This is Elise O’Brien with your Daily Promise from Yah’s Word.

Of the multitudes of adults that left Egypt, only two: Caleb and Joshua, lived to enter the Promised Land. After a lifetime of faithfulness and service, Joshua called the elders, judges and leaders of Israel and told them, quote:

“I am old, advanced in age. … “Behold, this day I am going the way of all the earth. And you know in all your hearts and in all your souls that not one thing has failed of all the good things which Yahuwah your Eloah spoke concerning you. All have come to pass for you; not one word of them has failed.” [Joshua 23:2, 14]

It’s a beautiful homily. You can read all of it in Joshua, chapter 23. What Joshua was wanting to emphasize before he died, was the immense blessings that accompany whole-hearted devotion and service to Yahuwah.

E. M. Bounds, in his classic book, The Power of Prayer, wrote: “Men are God’s method. The Church is looking for better methods; God is looking for better men…What the Church needs today is not more machinery or better, not new organizations or more and novel methods, but men whom the Holy Ghost can use–men of prayer, men mighty in prayer. The Holy Spirit does not flow through methods, but through men. He does not come on machinery, but on men. He does not anoint plans, but men–men of prayer.”

The requirements to serve Yahuwah are simple and straightforward. Deuteronomy, chapter 10, verse 12 lays it out: “And now, Israel, what doth Yahuwah thy Eloah require of thee, but to fear Yahuwah thy Eloah, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve Yahuwah thy Eloah with all thy heart and with all thy soul.”

Heaven pours out its richest blessings upon all who do this.

Second Chronicles, chapter 7, contains an incredible promise for all who will make the service of Yah foremost in their lives. Verse 14 says: “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”

What an overflowing abundance of blessing! He will hear our prayers! He will forgive our sin! He will heal our land.

We’ve been given great and precious promises. Go, and start claiming!

* * *Part 3: (Miles & Dave)

Miles: You know, each time I learn something new and startling, I think, surely, this has got to be it. What more can the devil twist, and corrupt, and change? And yet, every single time, there’s always something new, something different.

Who would have thought that even the understanding of when a day begins would be changed?

Dave: The devil corrupts truth anyway he possibly can.

Miles: Yeah, but why? What’s the point?

Dave: Hiding when a day begins has had the effect of stealing the blessing of Sabbath observance. Instead of the Sabbath being a joy, it ends up being—let’s be honest here—a burden.

Miles: Yeah! It really does. But not only that, it also creates an atmosphere of … how do I put this? Um, pharisaical standards.

How many people who think the Sabbath is from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday, have worked like mad to get something done right up to the instant the sun slips below the horizon?

Dave: I know I have.

Miles: Me, too. And how many of us have waited until the sun dropped below the horizon Saturday evening just so we could relax and have some fun?

This is what I’m talking about when I say that a sundown to sundown Sabbath has created an environment in which pharisaism has thrived.

It reminds me of Yahushua’s words in Matthew 23 verse 4, where He said the Pharisees, quote, “bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men’s shoulders.”

Dave: Satan has really stolen the blessing Yah always intended the Sabbath to be. Because you’re right: when it’s a burden, when you’re stressed out trying to have everything perfect by sunset, you end up feeling like an exhausted athlete, dragging yourself across the finish line. You’re not welcoming the Sabbath as a blessing. Not when it’s become a works-oriented burden.

Miles, agreeing: And that’s when you’re waiting eagerly for the Sabbath to be over, rather than welcoming its coming, and being sorry to see it end.

Dave: This is why Satan has gone to the trouble to hide the truth of when a day begins. By making Sabbath observance a burden, people fail to gain the blessing Yahuwah intended.

Do you still have your Bible there?

Miles: Right here.

Dave: Turn to Isaiah, chapter 58, would you please?

Yahuwah has special blessings just waiting for those who will honor Him and keep His Sabbaths, and it is these blessings—these spiritual gifts—we’re going to need in order to make it through the days ahead.

Have you got Isaiah 58? Start reading at the first.

Miles: “Cry aloud, spare not;
Lift up your voice like a trumpet;
Tell My people their transgression,
And the house of Jacob their sins.”

Dave: This message isn’t for unbelievers. This message is to Yah’s people.

Miles: “Yet they seek Me daily,
And delight to know My ways,
As a nation that did righteousness,
And did not forsake the ordinance of their Eloah.
They ask of Me the ordinances of justice;
They take delight in approaching Eloah.”

Dave: This is significant! These are people who delight in approaching Yahuwah. They don’t understand why they’re not blessed. What does it say next?

Miles: “‘Why have we fasted,’ they say, ‘and You have not seen?
Why have we afflicted our souls, and You take no notice?’

“In fact, in the day of your fast you find pleasure,
And exploit all your laborers.

Dave: “What’s up?” They’re asking. “How come we’ve done all the right things and we still aren’t blessed?”

Now, notice what Yahuwah says in response.

Miles: “Indeed you fast for strife and debate,
And to strike with the fist of wickedness.
You will not fast as you do this day,
To make your voice heard on high.

“Is it a fast that I have chosen,
A day for a man to afflict his soul?
Is it to bow down his head like a bulrush,
And to spread out sackcloth and ashes?
Would you call this a fast,
And an acceptable day to Yahuwah?”

Dave: Basically, what He’s saying here is: “Sure! You’ve fasted, but you’ve done it as a chore and a burden. You’ve done it to earn My good will.”

Then He goes on to explain what He’s really looking for, and what He’s looking for is heart service. Service prompted by love.

Miles: “Is this not the fast that I have chosen:
To loose the bonds of wickedness,
To undo the heavy burdens,
To let the oppressed go free,
And that you break every yoke?”

Dave: A pharisaical, legalistic observance of the Sabbath is a burden! That’s not what Yahuwah is looking for. He’s looking for a love relationship. And when we have that, we will see Yah in those around us. Then we will love them as we love ourselves.

Go ahead and read from verse 7 now.

Miles: “Is it not to share your bread with the hungry,
And that you bring to your house the poor who are ^[cast out;
When you see the naked, that you cover him,
And not hide yourself from your own flesh?”

Dave: When we lay aside legalistic Sabbath observance, when we worship Yah for no other reason than we love Him and we want to honor Him with our obedience, then the blessings start to flow.

Miles: “Then your light shall break forth like the morning,
Your healing shall spring forth speedily,
And your righteousness shall go before you;
The glory of Yahuwah shall be your rear guard.
Then you shall call, and Yahuwah will answer;
You shall cry, and He will say, ‘Here I am.’

“If you take away the yoke from your midst,
The pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness,
If you extend your soul to the hungry
And satisfy the afflicted soul,
Then your light shall dawn in the darkness,
And your darkness shall be as the noonday.
Yahuwah will guide you continually,
And satisfy your soul in drought,
And strengthen your bones;
You shall be like a watered garden,
And like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.”

Dave: This is what the Father wants to do for His children! But in order to be given these blessings, we need to lay aside the errors of papal tradition, and the assumptions we’ve all made. We have to restore Sabbath keeping back to what it was always intended to be.

That’s the work to restore true Sabbath keeping and, by doing this, honor Yah with our willing obedience.

Miles: “Those from among you
Shall build the old waste places;
You shall raise up the foundations of many generations;
And you shall be called the Repairer of the Breach,
The Restorer of Streets to Dwell In.”

“If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath,
From doing your pleasure on My holy day,
And call the Sabbath a delight,
The holy day of Yahuwah honorable,
And shall honor Him, not doing your own ways,
Nor finding your own pleasure,
Nor speaking your own words,

“Then you shall delight yourself in Yahuwah;
And I will cause you to ride on the high hills of the earth,
And feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father.
The mouth of Yahuwah has spoken.”

Dave: Jacob—the cheater—became “Israel” when he wrestled with the angel of Yahuwah and received a blessing. That is what is being offered all who will embrace the spirit of true Sabbath observance.

This is the heritage of Jacob—the persevering reliance on the word of Yah alone for deliverance.

If we will humble ourselves, not doing our own pleasure, not going through the motions of what makes us feel like we’re saved, but simply trusting in the merits of the Saviour, if we will lay aside our own efforts at righteousness, then the blessings of the Sabbath will be ours!

This is the spiritual preparation we. These are the blessings Yah is just waiting to pour out when we obey Him and keep the Sabbath, simply, and without embellishment.

Miles: Just Him and us. None of the traditions and errors that have turned the Sabbath into a burden.

Dave: I’m excited about this! These are Very! Real! Blessings! These are the blessings Satan has stolen from us. First, he brings in a counterfeit calendar, then he brings in a false day of worship, and for those who still have some glimmer of knowledge, some understanding of the Sabbath, however imperfect, he brings in an incorrect understanding of when the Sabbath begins.

But with the truth restored … wow. Only the depths of divine love will reveal the richness of the blessings that await everyone who surrenders all to Yahuwah and worships Him on His holy Sabbath.

Miles: Join us again tomorrow, and until then, remember: Yahuwah loves you . . . and He is safe to trust!

* * *Pre-recorded Sign off

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In his teachings and parables, the Savior gave no “signs of the times” to watch for. Instead, the thrust of his message was constant … vigilance. Join us again tomorrow for another truth-filled message as we explore various topics focused on the Savior's return and how to live in constant readiness to welcome him warmly when he comes.

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