Fact Versus Theory

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Feb 4, 1897

Fact Versus Theory

Fact versus Theory.—Referring to the great so-called “discovery” that the Jewish week was movable, and that the Sabbath was not, therefore, the seventh day of our week, it is a sufficient reply to say that when the Jewish week came into contact with the fixed week of Rome and other western nations, the Jewish week was found to be identical with the Roman week with this simple difference: The Jewish or Bible week began at sunset Saturday night, while the Roman week began at midnight. The inevitable conclusion is, therefore, that the Bible week is a fixed week. The effort has been made frequently in time past to mystify the searcher after the true Sabbath by saying that in the change from Old Style to New Style time was lost, and no one knew the proper order of the week. It was only necessary to reply to the foolish statement that Russia reckons time by Old Style, while other European nations reckon by New Style, yet the week and the order of the days of the week are the same. The change from Old Style to New Style did not affect the order of the days of the week in the least. The two theories are parallel. The Bible week is a fixed week, and, with the exception noted above, is identical with the week common in all nations. An ounce of fact is worth a pound of theory.