2. The International Date Line (IDL)

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1 The IDL & Its Impact on the th day Sabbath 7 th in Samoa

2 Understanding the Lines 1. The 180 degree Meridian This is the longitudinal (vertical) straight line which lies on the opposite side of the globe from the Prime Meridian (0 degree) at Greenwich. The 180 degree meridian like the other longitudinal lines help navigators determine their physical location when travelling around the world. 2. The International Date Line (IDL) The IDL is a zigzag imaginary line that separates two consecutive days; and while it follows the 180-degree meridian it doesn t always.

3 IDL Implication for Travel When travelling west of the IDL we add a day (24 hours), but when travelling east we subtract a day.

4 Dates to Remember 1884 (Washington, DC) The International Meridian Conference established the Prime Meridian (0 degree) at Greenwich, England; and the IDL was universally accepted as a necessary marker that separates two consecutive calendar days at mid-night (Samoa) King Malietoa Laupepa agree to move the IDL to the west of the Samoa Islands for trading purposes (Samoa) The Government of Samoa shifted the IDL to the east of the Samoa Islands for trading purposes.

5 Saturday Always the 7 th Day 1. Saturday was the seventh day of the week in Samoa before and after When the IDL was moved from the east to the west of the Islands in 1892 thus adding two July 04 to the calendar (this was an eight day week), Saturday was still the seventh day. 3. When Samoa shifted the IDL to the east of the country in 2011 (creating a six day week), Saturday remained the seventh day.

6 Samoan Government & the IDL Talofa Mr (John) Wallace Thank you for your . There has been no change in the first day of the week for Samoa, it remains at Sunday. I have attached a copy of the notice from the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Labour (MCIL) advising the change in time, quoting the International Dateline Act 2011 which came into effect last year. I hope this answers your query. Kinds regards, Renate Rivers Deputy Press Secretary Press Secretariat Office Government Department of the Independent State of Samoa

7 Samoa Calendar Post-2011 Saturday in Samoa post-2011 is still the seventh-day of the week (see the June 2013 calendar above), and every date of any given month has been assigned a name. For example, June 1,8,15,22,29 in Samoa is a Saturday, the seventh day of the week. Dates of the month and days of the week go together hand in hand.

8 The Catholic Roman Witness Asked about casinos opening on Sunday, Father Ioane says that personally, he had no problems with it. He says the church on Sunday is a day of celebration. For Catholics or any Christian for that matter, Sunday is a day of rest, a day of giving thanks and praise to the Lord. It is also a day of joy and celebration because for the Catholic Church, Sunday is the day of the resurrection of Jesus. NOTES 1.The Roman Catholic Church is the second largest Christian denomination in Samoa. 2.Father Ioane Ono is the spokesperson for the Roman Catholic Church. 3.While the context of the above statement is gambling and the possibility of casinos being opened on Sunday in Samoa, it is nevertheless a clear expression of the basis for Sunday (first day of the week) worship and observance by Catholics and other Christians including the community: it s about the resurrection on the first day. (Source: Samoan Observer Online 12 March 2013)

9 The Bible & the 7 th Day Sabbath FRIDAY SATURDAY SUNDAY Preparation Day Sabbath Day First Day Luke 23:54-24:1

10 Seventh-day Adventists Teaching The Sabbath holds a special place in our lives. The seventh day of the week, from sunset Friday to sunset Saturday (Lev. 23:32), is a gift from God, a sign of His grace in time. Church Manual Revised 2010 (18th Edition), pg The Sabbath begins at sunset on Friday evening and ends at sunset Saturday evening (see Gen 3:15; cf. Mark 1:32). Scripture calls the day before the Sabbath (Friday) the preparation day (Mark 15:42). Seventh-day Adventists Believe, 2005 Edition, pg. 296 & 297.

11 God s Final Call SUNDAY WORSHIP SABBATH WORSHIP The Mark of the Beast God s Eternal Sign 4 Then I heard another voice from heaven say: Come out of her, my people, so that you will not share in her sins, so that you will not receive any of her plagues; 5 for her sins are piled up to heaven, and God has remembered her crimes. 8 Therefore in one day her plagues will overtake her: death, mourning and famine. She will be consumed by fire, for mighty is the Lord God who judges her. Rev 18:4,5,8 (NIV)

12 Concluding Statements 1. In a round world, we accept that when crossing the IDL we need to adjust time by adding a day when going west and dropping a day when travelling east. 2. The seventh-day of the week east or west of the IDL is always Saturday. 3. The seventh-day Sabbath in Samoa has always been Saturday, even today. 4. The seventh-day Sabbath in Samoa before and after 1884 was Saturday, it was still Saturday after 1892, and it is still Saturday after December 29, 2011.

13 Concluding Statements 5. Dates and days of the week go together. December 31, 2011, globally and in Samoa was Saturday, the seventh-day, the Lord s Sabbath. 6. The Sabbath Jesus kept in His time was Saturday, and it s the same Saturday that we observe today. 7. The seventh-day Sabbath is the day after the preparation day, Friday, and the day before the first day of the week, Sunday. 8. The seventh-day Sabbath is the 24 hour time period starting with Friday sunset and finishes with Saturday sunset.

14 Concluding Statements 9. The Government of Samoa did not change the sequence of days or the weekly calendar when the IDL was shifted on the night of December 29, The reason for Sunday worship and observance by other Christian denominations in Samoa is the resurrection of Jesus; and while they may use the word Sapati with reference to their day of rest, they are NOT thinking the seventh-day of the week but the resurrection day the first day!

15 Concluding Statements 9. The General Conference of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, in session, has not endorsed the observance of the Sabbath in Samoa on Sunday. 10.The seventh-day Sabbath, Saturday, is our prophetic identity and witness as Seventh-day Adventists. 11.The seventh-day Sabbath is God s eternal sign between Him and His people.

16 Concluding Statements 12.The seventh-day Sabbath is a memorial to God s creative and redemptive works. 13.We observe the seventh-day Sabbath as a constant reminder of our salvation in Jesus. 14.The essence of Sabbath keeping is our relationship with Jesus Christ, the Lord of the Sabbath. 15.Part of God s final call, the three angels messages, for the world today is the declaration to come out of false worship, Sunday worship.