When Does Sabbath Begin?

Are you a sincere TRUTH seeker? We believe most of our readers are. We hope so, as a sincere TRUTH seeker will not allow personal bias or the opinions of others to counteract an honest evaluation of a subject. Some may say they seek Truth but be so invested in a belief or so convinced of its validity that they will either consciously or subconsciously shut out any evidence that conflicts with their view. This is a natural human tendency, as none of us like to change our foundational thinking or beliefs. It is very uncomfortable to question the validity of an idea that we have previously determined to be true. However, we should always be willing to look at what others have found and study out any evidence that presents itself. With that said, we hope you will entertain the full gambit of our associated writing in order to sort out a very valid issue of our day, seeking Yah's Truth above all else. After doing so, we welcome your comments – pro or con - if they are composed with Yah's grace.

Throughout the years, virtually all Yah's people have been keeping His Sabbath days from evening to evening. Then the emergence of a new trend disrupted this unity, and some began observing morning to morning as the timing for a day. Actually, many proponents of this trend are those who keep the Zadokite calendar. There is reason for this. The Zadokite calendar is a solar calendar, and the Dead Sea Scrolls reflect that those who kept this calendar viewed themselves as “sons of light”, and those who kept the lunar calendar as “sons of darkness”. The reasoning was simple:

• The Zadokite calendar uses a “solar”-based system, where the sun determines all timing rather than the moon. The sun rules the “day”, when it is “light”, and this light represents our Elohim. Thus they viewed themselves as “sons of light”.
  
  

• Hillel and other versions of Judaic calendar keeping use a “lunar”-based system, where the moon determines all timing rather than the sun. The moon rules the “night”, when it is “dark”, and this darkness represents ha Satan. Thus they viewed those of this calendar as “sons of darkness”.
  
  

Since the emergence of the Dead Sea Scrolls, many are beginning to see the Zadokite calendar, and many proponents of the calendar have begun to take this rationale one step further. They generally reason that since the “light” represents Elohim, then perhaps we should begin our observation of His Sabbaths with the light.

Now that is quite a leap, but the motivation toward this end seems quite noble. It is especially tempting to jump on this bandwagon simply because it bucks the system! (This has become a popular thing to do these days!) When one teaching (such as the lunar calendar system) is proven to be flawed, then everything that has been taught comes into question. AND MAYBE IT SHOULD, but we cannot afford to simply go with something because it is different than what has been understood in the past. We must take to heart the warning in Genesis that our enemy is very subtle. He does not like for something to be corrected from wrong to right (such as the shift to a solar-based Zadokite calendar system), and he will do all he can to twist the emerging truth so that it becomes errant as well. It is our DUTY as Believers to evaluate carefully and stand in Truth.

So – did Yah intend all along for the timing of a complete daily cycle to be morning to morning, OR is it simply man's reasoning and conclusions? We know that putting Y'shua's birthday on December 25 when other great celebrations occurred was such an attempt, but it was not proper. No matter how logical the human reasoning, how virtuous the intent, or how gratifying it seems, if it is not Yah's prescribed way, we will succumb to deception. The intent of this writing is to bring further clarity to the matter. It is an honest attempt to try to discern what Yah's prescribed way really is.

Evening or Morning?
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