WHAT IS “THE LORD’S DAY” OF REVELATION 1:10?
by Shawn Brasseaux
“I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet” (Revelation 1:10). What is the “Lord’s Day” here? Look in the Bible, my friend! Do not blindly accept the idle speculations of men!
A theologian wrote the following about Revelation 1:10: “Lord’s day. This phrase appears in many early Christian writings and refers to Sunday, the day of the Lord’s resurrection. Some have suggested this phrase refers to ‘the Day of the Lord,’ but the context doesn’t support that interpretation, and the grammatical form of the word ‘Lord’ is adjectival, thus ‘the Lord’s day.’”
His words are the complete opposite of reality. Note how he, like so many “scholars,” use “Christian writings” to develop their theology rather than using the Bible to develop their theology. Christian writings have no spiritual authority; they are not inspired of God. The Bible is inspired of God. We do not use the writings of men to define Bible terms! This theologian’s suggestions are utterly ridiculous! Just what difference would it make if John were writing the Revelation on a Sunday?! What does Sunday have to do with Bible prophecy? Absolutely nothing, friend! It is just vain speculations of men who are more interested in promoting their theology than teaching God’s Word. The context supports the interpretation “the Day of the Lord” and does not support “Sunday.” Let me show you.
FIRST, A CORRECTION TO SOME RELATED CONFUSION
Before we begin, we need to clear up the confusion that denominationalism has created. According to religious tradition, Sunday is “the Lord’s day” and “the Christian Sabbath.” This is due to a misinterpretation of Revelation 1:10, which is actually referring to “the Day of the Lord,” the seven-year Tribulation. “The Day of the Lord” (“the Lord’s day”) is neither Saturday nor Sunday. There is no such thing as “Lord’s Day observance” in the Bible—that is a religious teaching, not a Bible teaching.
According to the Bible, Saturday has been and always will be the Sabbath Day. Jesus Christ resurrected on Sunday, the first day of the week (Matthew 28:1; Mark 16:1; Luke 24:1; John 20:1). This would make the last day of the week, Saturday, the Sabbath Day. Please understand that the Sabbath was never Sunday in the Bible and will never be Sunday in the Bible! Using dispensational Bible study—“rightly dividing the word of truth” as 2 Timothy 2:15 KJV instructs—we can determine whether or not we are bound to observe the Sabbath Day (which is Saturday, not Sunday, remember). More specifically, we will learn how the “Lord’s Day” of Revelation 1:10, the first day of the week of Acts 20:7 and 1 Corinthians 16:1-2, and the Jewish Sabbath are three separate days in the Bible. There is far too much mixing the three and making them all refer to one day.
REVELATION 1:10—RECEIVED ON SUNDAY?!
“I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet.” Why would the Apostle John (or the Holy Ghost) think it necessary to be sure we know that John received his revelation on Sunday? That is downright absurd! No one in the Bible ever noted what day of the week they wrote. They mentioned the month, or the year, or the date of the month, but they never mentioned “Monday,” “Tuesday,” et cetera. That causes us to conclude the term “Lord’s Day” in Revelation 1:10 has nothing to do with Sunday. As we already saw, a theologian admitted he defined the term as such because “Christian writings” defined it as such. He had no Scriptural support for his belief. Friends, rather than repeating what others speculate about the verse, why not look the context and let the context define the term?
What is the Apostle John writing about in the book of the Revelation? The seven-year Tribulation period and subsequent kingdom. It is the time when God’s wrath is poured out on sinful man and Jesus Christ is exalted above all. What does the Old Testament Scriptures say about this?
The King James Bible uses the term “the day of the LORD” 29 times. The first instance is Isaiah 2:11-12: “[11] The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day. [12] For the day of the LORD of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty, and upon every one that is lifted up; and he shall be brought low:” And, verse 17: “…and the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day.” According to these verses, during this period of the “day of the LORD” (not a literal 24-hour period), God will judge arrogant, unbelieving mankind. If you study the “Day of the LORD” in other verses, you will see that the term actually refers to a period of God’s vengeance (Isaiah 61:2; Joel 1:15; et al.). Does God pour out His wrath every Sunday? Ridiculous.
The “Lord’s Day” in Revelation 1:10 is another way of saying the “Day of the LORD.” What is the Apostle John writing about in the book of the Revelation? The seven-year Tribulation period and subsequent kingdom. He was supernaturally transported into the future, not to Sunday, but to the Day of the Lord! The “Day of the LORD” is not Sunday but actually a long period of time: the future seven-year Tribulation and the following 1000-year reign of Christ in a literal, physical, visible earthly kingdom, when Christ is exalted as King of kings and Lord of lords.
Wow, without the religious gobbledygook, it is so clear!
CONCLUSION
Sunday has nothing to do with the book of the Revelation. On what authority do people say Revelation 1:10 is a reference to Sunday? They have no Scriptural support. Rather they are repeating what others have speculated about the verse! Actually, it is nothing but Roman Catholic tradition. Many thanks to Rome (and Satan) for all this confusion!
Absolutely, the Sabbath is Saturday. It always was Saturday, and always will be Saturday. We have no Sabbath day to observe, Colossians 2:16 says, in this the Dispensation of Grace. When the saints in the Body of Christ gathered in Acts 20:7 and 1 Corinthians 16:1-2 that was not to observe the “Lord’s day.” These verses never call it such. To say otherwise is to faultily assume that Sunday replaced the Jewish Saturday Sabbath. Furthermore, Sunday (the supposed “Lord’s day”) replacing the Saturday Sabbath is nothing but church tradition. Making the Saturday Sabbath into Sunday and making the Lord’s Day of Revelation into Sunday has no Scriptural support whatsoever, friend. Just toss it all away and keep the Bible verses!
Also see:
» Why did Jesus heal on the Sabbath day?
» Should we observe the Lord’s Supper?
» Is immersion the “proper” mode of water baptism?