Dropping a Day by R. M. Kilgore

Seventh-day Adventist Missionary Society · Oakland, California · Jul 19, 1883

Dropping a Day.

By R. M. Kilgore

BY ELD. R. M. KILGORE.

In the chapter on "Incidents of the Pacific Voyage," written by Eugene R. Hendrix, D. D., in his "Around the World," a volume of 600 pages, with an introduction by the late Bishop Marvin, of the Methodist Church, he relates the method by which, and shows the necessity of, "dropping a day" in crossing the Pacific Ocean from east to west. He says:—

"On Friday, November 17, at noon the bulletin announced our longitude as 177° 19' west. In the afternoon one could see, by the frequent visits to the barber-shop, that something unusual was about to happen. The next day was Sunday, the 19th, and Saturday, the 18th, was dropped, or set down as a dies non. We had in the meantime crossed the meridian, or one hundred and eightieth degree, and the next announcement on the bulletin was longitude 179° 19' east. The gong sounded at half past ten o'clock for Sunday service, and we assembled in the social hall to listen to an instructive sermon by Bishop Marvin on the "Corn of Wheat." Thus was the Jewish Sabbath once more superseded by the first day of the week. With all on board it was a profitable day. It was still Saturday with our friends in America, but we are now on the other side of the world, and hence we conformed to the Sabbath being observed by the followers of Jesus in Japan, China, India, and the East generally. Of what minor consequence is the mere day of the week observed, so that we consecrate one day to be a Sabbath unto the Lord! Had we gone on observing the same day without dropping one, we should find on getting back to America that we were keeping Monday in place of Sunday.

"Perhaps the necessity for dropping a day will be made more clear to some minds by a simple illustration: Mrs. ——, of Hongkong, one of our lady passengers, concluded on leaving New York not to change her watch during the voyage. On reaching San Francisco her watch was three hours and ten minutes fast; on reaching the one hundred and eightieth degree it was seven hours fast—that is, while the ship's clock said 9 A. M. her watch said 4 P. M. Had she started from Greenwich, England, in place of New York, it would be twelve hours fast in place of seven; so that while it would be 9 P. M. by the ship's time, it would be 9 A. M. the following day by hers. By the time she reached Hongkong her watch would be over sixteen hours faster than local time there, and on getting back to Greenwich it would have gained twenty-four hours, or a whole day. To avoid confusion, this extra day is by common consent dropped on crossing the meridian going west. The ship's time is altered every day to correspond with the time ascertained at eight o'clock every morning. We thus put the clock back about fifteen minutes daily, and finally make the calendar correspond. Coming east, on the other hand, the clock has to be put forward every day and the calendar is made to correspond by adding a day. Thus, if the ship crosses the meridian on Sunday, the next day is Sunday also. It is 11 A. M. Monday, November 20, as we write these lines, while with our friends in Missouri it is 5 P. M. Sunday, November 19. We hope that they have spent a delightful Sabbath thus far, and that they will be profited by the evening services in their sanctuaries."

Query 1 arises in our mind as we read the above, as follows: If the "Jewish Sabbath" was superseded by the "first day of the week" by crossing the day line, or 180° west longitude, on Friday, as they journeyed westward, if their ship had crossed the meridian one day later, or on Saturday, would not the first day of the week in that case have been superseded by Monday? And Query 2 then arises: Would that ship's crew and passengers have had any Sunday on which the Bishop could preach? They would not. Then 3d: If the definite day is of "minor consequence," is it of any consequence whether we have a day to consecrate to the Lord or not? 4th: If one day in seven is all that the decalogue requires, then did the passengers on board that ship, on that occasion, meet the demand of the law by "dropping" the seventh day, thus reducing that week, with them, to only six days in length? 5th: Had these tourists been going east instead of west, would they not have carried with them to China, Japan, India, and the East generally, the same Sabbath-day that they were keeping when they left Missouri? and would they not also have been observing the same day that the followers of Jesus were observing on the other side of the world? They certainly would. Why? Because they could not add a day to their reckoning till they had reached the one hundred and eightieth degree of longitude east from Greenwich. 6th: Finally, if they should reach the one hundred and eightieth degree east and cross it on Sunday, by "adding a day," the following day would be Sunday also. Then would not two Sundays, without any intervening days between them, have to be kept by those on board the ship? And would it not be an utter impossibility for them to observe one day in seven, when they would be compelled to observe two?

In the providence of God it is demonstrated again and again that a "seventh part of time" cannot be kept, while the stubborn fact exists that only a definite seventh day can be observed in a round world.