f the first day was passing away, and therefore the
evening brought to view in the text was the close of the first day or
the commencing of the second. McKnight's translation says, "in the
evening of that day." Purver's translation says, "the evening of that
day on the first after the Sabbath." Further, wherever the phrase first
day of the week, occurs in the New Testament, the word day is in
_italics_, showing that it is not the original, but supplied by
translators. Again, it is asserted that Jesus met with his disciples the
next first day. See 26 v: "And _after_ eight days again his disciples
were within, and Thomas with them, then came Jesus, the doors being
shut, and stood in the midst, and said peace be unto you." [37]Dr. Adam
Clark in referring to this 26v, says: "It seems likely that this was
precisely on that day se'night on which Christ had appeared to them
before; and from this we may learn that this was the weekly meeting of
the Apostles." Now it appears to me that a little child, with the simple
rules of addition and subtraction, could have refuted this man. I feel
astonished that men who profess to be ambassadors for God do not expose
such downright perversions of scripture, but it may look clear to those
who want to have it so. Not many months since, in conversation with the
Second Advent lecturer in New Bedford, I brought up this subject. He
told me I did not understand it. See here, says he, I can make it plain,
counting his fingers thus: Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday,
Friday, Saturday, Sunday--does'nt that make eight days after? and
because I would not concede, he parted from me as one that was obstinate
and self-willed. Afterwards musing on the subject, I said, this must be
the way then to understand it: _Count Sunday Twice_. If any of them were
to be paid for eight days labor, they would detect the error in a moment
if their employer should attempt to put the first and last days
together, and offer them pay but for seven. Eight days _after_ the
evening of the _first_ day would stand thus: The second day of the week
would certainly be the first of the eight. Then to count eight days of
twenty-four hours _after_, we must begin at the close of the evening of
the first, and count to the close of the evening of the second day; to
where the Jews (by God's command) commenced their third day. But suppose
we calculate it by our mode of keeping time. Our Lord appears to his
disciples the first tim