Herbert W. Armstrong handled the question of the International Date Line in regards to keeping the Sabbath by telling members that the way to get around this was to keep the Sabbath right where they were located. Do you remember what was said concerning this? Following are some former members that have volunteered to comment on this question.

1st comment:

The Sabbath and International Date Line question. I didn't have exactly that experience but around 10 years ago I was traveling extensively on business and two similar issues came up and were "ruled upon" in the UK:

1. I was working in Bergen (northern Norway) in the Winter. Sunset was around 1pm (sunrise was around 11am). Keeping the Sabbath from 1pm until 1pm (then going to work at 2pm on Saturday?!) was clearly ludicrous, so the ruling was that if I was "so far North" then I should keep the Sabbath from 6pm to 6pm local time. In the North of England and in Scotland (as in much of Canada) the Sabbath started before 3pm for a few weeks anyhow--a big problem for many who lost jobs.
   
   
2. I was attending meetings in Oslo (southern Norway) on a Friday. Due to London being much further South and also West of Oslo, I would excuse myself from the board meeting in Oslo around 2pm local time, go to the airport and fly back home to London--where the Sabbath had not started yet!!! So from my perspective the Sabbath in Norway lasted around 2 hours and was followed after another hour or so on landing in London by another Sabbath of 24 hours. On asking for a ruling on this I expected to be told the "Jerusalem time" or the "6pm" story--but, no,--I was told to quit the meeting and stay put. Of course that would mean staying an extra night in Norway at my own expense ($200 or so), as my company wasn't going to let me take half a day off and also pay an extra night in a hotel !! I ignored the ruling and did what seemed sensible--and didn't ask again.

This second example is sort of like the International Date Line "stay put," isn't it?

I also worked in Finland. Helsinki is bad enough, but when you are up in Oulu it gets really weird. The Sabbath used to be crazy in the Winter, but in Summer the sun set around 11.30pm and came up again after a brief twilight around 2pm. (As the man from Monty Python said, "where were you on the night of 1963?!)

Hope this is useful input for someone. Best regards, --Former member

2nd comment:

What I remember more clearly is an article in one of the magazines we received. I am not sure which one it was. However, the International Date Line was under discussion. The way around the obvious problem this presents for Sabbath observers was that man could establish such a starting point and that the church, being God's government on earth, accepted that and worshipped accordingly.

It was obvious that not all questions could be answered in this manner, but, we were to remain submissive to God's government in the church and accept its decree on the matter.

As I write, this more comes to memory. I heard GTA state that we observe the Sabbath wherever we are. He used the example of our living in a canyon, where sunset would occur rather early in the day, while on the rim it would take place many hours later. He instructed the audience to observe it as the sun went down on our location.

I also heard the ministry discuss places like Alaska, where there would be such great difficulties in members keeping jobs because of the great variations in sunset times. I heard them say that in such case a person might just "set a time" and observe the Sabbath that way.

It's now so easy for us to look back and see that since the law was given to ancient Israel only, there was actually no need to fret over such questions in trying to apply them to us today over the whole world. --Former member

3rd comment:

I can't remember the International Date Line issue specifically and dumped my old literature but I think that was the teaching--keep the Sabbath where you are.

I do remember that in the Artic regions it was to be kept from when the sun dipped to its lowest point Friday to its lowest point Saturday during the summer since it never actually set.

Regards, --Former member

4th comment:

Yes, Gerald Flurry would use the same logic as HWA concerning keeping the Sabbath. The Sabbath begins for you (wherever you live) when the sun sets in your area. Don't the Jews have the same understanding?

Keep up the good work. --Former member

5th comment: 

This issue never came up church wide while I was in the PCG. But I do know that a minister brought this issue up before Flurry about two years ago. (This minister is no longer in the PCG because he came to see that Malachi's Message and every booklet that Flurry wrote was nonsense. In fact, his congregation was the PCG's fastest growing and most active congregation in the whole church. This minister told me that for the last 3 or so years while he pastored there, he didn't preach one sermon in which he mentioned MM or any other Flurry booklet. In fact, he personally told Flurry that there were quite a few errors in MM, and Flurry didn't fire him!! Flurry knew that [this minister] was not behind MM for about 3 years, and the reason he didn't fire him was because his area was doing well and bringing in a lot of money for the PCG. Keep in mind that one cannot even be baptized in the PCG unless they state that they believe MM is the "little book" of Rev. 10! What hypocrisy!)

Anyway, back to the Date Line. This minister told me that Flurry basically said that HWA restored "all things," and that everyone should just keep the Sabbath as always. More and more people who are Sabbath keepers now believe that everyone between the International Date Line and Jerusalem are keeping the Sabbath on the wrong day because the dateline was established by man, not God, and that God counts time from Jerusalem westward. So now you have 2 camps developing in the "Church of God community": Those who maintain the status quo, and those who believe the true dateline starts at Jerusalem. I think that if one is going to be a true Sabbath keeper, he should start time at Jerusalem. But, of course, since Christ has become our Sabbath, it is pretty much a moot point. But it gives them something else to fight over. --Former member

Should the Sabbath be Observed Today? (excellent study)

Is it essential that we keep the Sabbath? (Q&A)

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