This is Part 5 of the answers on when does God's day start (sunrise or sunset)?
See: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4
So far, I have offered 12 witnesses from Bible verses. Today, I offer the 13th witness, Genesis 1:1 - 2:3.
13th Witness
Below are the verses of Genesis 1:1 - 2:3 where God describes His first 7 days of creation.
There is some dispute as to when God's day begins. To help analyze this issue and discover God's hidden truth, I suggest there are 4 to 5 possible moments in time when God's day ends, and the next day of God will begin.
After the sun sets, it gets dark quickly. The moment when the night is darkest is at some moment after sunset, but before sunrise. That darkest moment depends on the phase of the moon (ie. New moon, waxing, full moon, waning), and the time of moonrise and moonset, and varies for each day of the year.
Wild animals naturally detect the change from evening to morning. Their activity tends to follow these light levels. Animals that are active during daylight hours tend to start greater activity in the morning, have maximum activity during the day, and start settling down before sunset, then have a period of minimum activity during the evening, including sleep. After evening has passed, the cycle begins again with morning for the next day.
In Genesis, God uses the terms day, night, evening, and morning.
We believe the Bible defines itself. Therefore if we properly read the Bible, each of these terms should be self-evident how they are defined.
In this manner, I have concluded, and suggest you consider, the following definitions:
Evening: the period of time from after the sun is fully set until the moment of darkest night.
Morning: the period of time from the moment of darkest night until the sun starts to rise.
Sunrise: the moment of time when the first direct rays of sun can be seen by an observer on the surface of the Earth with an unobstructed view of the horizon where the sun will rise.
Sunset: the moment of time when the last direct rays of sun can be seen by an observer on the surface of the Earth with an unobstructed view of the horizon where the sun is setting.
Daylight Hours: the elapsed time that begins at sunrise, and continues to sunset; defined by God as "Day" in Genesis 1:5. See also the definition of "Day"
Night Hours: the elapsed time that begins after sunset, which includes evening and morning, and ends just before sunrise. See also the definition "Night"
Day:
Def'n #1: an elapsed period of time that includes both Daylight Hours and Night Hours (ie. sunset, evening, morning, and sunrise); that is 24 clock hours in duration, more or less.
Def'n #2: Day is also defined by God in Genesis 1:5 as the period of time which has the light.
Night: defined by God in Genesis 1:5 as the duration of time without the light. See also the definition of "Night Hours".
Based on these definitions, when does God's day begin?
I suggest that God's day likely begins at:
A: sunrise, or
B: midnight (Gregorian-Roman time standard), or
C: sunset (current Jewish and Muslim tradition).
I think it is obvious that God wouldn't choose the same as Pope Gregory XIII of the Roman Catholic Church in 1582 ( ie. Choice "B: midnight"), as God had made His choice well before that, and God never changes, and Pope Gregory obviously wasn't interested in what the Holy Bible said, as he was more interested in pontificating (eg. Year starts in January, rather than the biblical Spring start after Spring Equinox; October means 8 th month in Latin language, but it is now 10th month; similar for Nov. & Dec.; days of the week are named after idols or witchcraft, etc.).
We are therefore left with two remaining possibilities: sunrise or sunset.
I have placed 4 or 5 options (ie. Logical cases; C01, C02, C03, C04, or C05) as to the exact possible moment of God's day ending (and the simultaneous beginning of the next day) at the key places in the Genesis text.
Your task is to choose the exact moment in the Genesis text, when one day ends, and the next day begins.
If the above definitions (ie. evening, morning, sunrise, sunset, dalight, night) conflict with your choices, you can supply your alternative definitions and your corresponding choice of when you think God divides between two days.
### Genesis 1:1 - 2:3
[Gen 1:1 KJV] "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth."
[Gen 1:2 KJV] "And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters."
[Gen 1:3 KJV] "And God said, Let there be light: and there was light."
[Gen 1:4 KJV] "And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness."
[Gen 1:5 KJV] "And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night.
C01: end of day1
And the evening
C02: end of day1
and the morning
C03: end of day1
were the first day."
C04: end of day1
[Gen 1:6 KJV] "And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters."
[Gen 1:7 KJV] "And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so."
[Gen 1:8 KJV] "And God called the firmament Heaven."
C01: end of day2
"And the evening"
C02: end of day2
"and the morning"
C03: end of day2
"were the second day."
C04: end of day2
[Gen 1:9 KJV] "And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so."
[Gen 1:10 KJV] "And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good."
[Gen 1:11 KJV] "And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so."
[Gen 1:12 KJV] "And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good."
C01: end of day3
[Gen 1:13 KJV] "And the evening"
C02: end of day3
"and the morning"
C03: end of day3
"were the third day."
C04: end of day3
[Gen 1:14 KJV] "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:"
[Gen 1:15 KJV] "And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so."
[Gen 1:16 KJV] "And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also."
[Gen 1:17 KJV] "And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth,"
[Gen 1:18 KJV] "And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good."
C01: end of day4
[Gen 1:19 KJV] "And the evening"
C02: end of day4
"and the morning"
C03: end of day4
"were the fourth day."
C04: end of day4
[Gen 1:20 KJV] "And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven."
[Gen 1:21 KJV] "And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good."
[Gen 1:22 KJV] "And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth."
C01: end of day5
[Gen 1:23 KJV] "And the evening"
C02: end of day5
"and the morning"
C03: end of day5
"were the fifth day."
C04: end of day5
[Gen 1:24 KJV] "And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so."
[Gen 1:25 KJV] "And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good."
[Gen 1:26 KJV] "And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth."
[Gen 1:27 KJV] "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them."
[Gen 1:28 KJV] "And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth."
[Gen 1:29 KJV] "And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat."
[Gen 1:30 KJV] "And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so."
[Gen 1:31 KJV] "And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good."
C01: end of day6
"And the evening"
C02: end of day6
"and the morning"
C03: end of day6
"were the sixth day."
C04: end of day6
[Gen 2:1 KJV] "Thus the heavens and the earth were finished,
C05: end of day6
"and all the host of them."
C06: end of day6
[Gen 2:2 KJV] "And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made."
C01: end of day7
[Gen 2:3 KJV] "And God blessed the seventh day,
C02: end of day7
"and sanctified it:"
C03: end of day7
"because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made."
C04: end of day7
Conclusion & Request
I seek the truth; God's truth.
I suggest, and have chosen for myself and my family that "C04" is the only correct possibility for the start of God's day.
God says 2 or 3 witnesses are sufficient to prove a matter. I have provided 13 proofs due to the epidemic of stiff necks suffered by the vast majority.
While this issue is extremely important to God, most people couldn't care less, preferring to follow non-Biblical traditions, &/or the majority.
That's likely why God allows the straight, wide path to Hell to exist, and focuses on the small Remnant that is willing to think, fear God, love God, follow God, and eagerly obey His commandments.
In John 14:15, Jesus ssid "if you love me, keep My commandments."
Are you fully aware of the consequences for not loving Jesus Christ?
However, if I am wrong, I need to discover my error, and continue to search for God's truth on this issue.
Based on the above, if you have alternate decisions and beliefs and definitions, please provide your alternative suggestions to us in the comments below, complete with detailed logic and objective evidence (ie. Bible verses) so I can readily understand your suggestion.
### Update #1 2024-4-22 ###
I found another Biblical proof (total 14 now) that God's day begins at sunrise, hidden in the Greek "epiphosko", Strong's G2020, in the Book of Luke.
### End Update #1 ###
