The phrase, “the Lord’s Day,” is found only in Revelation
1:10 and I find nothing in that passage or book or the entire canon that
indicates John meant the first day of the week. Here’s the immediate context:
Rev 1:9-11 (HCSB)
I, John, your brother and partner in the tribulation,
kingdom, and endurance that are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos
because of God’s word and the testimony about Jesus. I was in the Spirit on the
Lord’s day, and I heard a loud voice behind me like a trumpet saying, “Write on
a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches: Ephesus, Smyrna,
Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea.”
John’s Revelation is an apocalyptic work; he is told to
write what he sees and he was in the Spirit on the day in question. This sets
the stage for word pictures and figures of speech. I know of one clear thing that
favors of seeing “the Lord’s Day” as a reference to Sunday: many (but not all)
of the early post-biblical saints considered it that way. But the first and
foremost rule of interpretation is context. And the second is like unto it:
Scripture interprets Scripture. We must seek the meaning of this phrase from
Scripture, supplemented by history.
One thing to consider is John’s statement that he “was in
the Spirit” in Revelation 1:10. He heard a loud voice like a trumpet
playing. Compare this with another passage: After this I looked, and there
in heaven was an open door. The first voice that I had heard speaking to me
like a trumpet said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place
after this.” Immediately I was in the Spirit, and a throne was set there in
heaven. One was seated on the throne, and the One seated looked like jasper and
carnelian stone. A rainbow that looked like an emerald surrounded the throne. (Rev
4:1-3) John also said he “was in the Spirit” in Revelation 17:3 and
21:10. In each of the passages other than Revelation 1:10 we are given clear
indication that being in the Spirit means John was experiencing a glorious
vision of heaven and was not involved in earthly things. This is the first textual
clue that indicates (to me) that “the Lord’s Day” is not referring to a
recurring day of the week on this planet.
The grammatical structure of the phrase is similar to “the
Lord’s Supper,” showing His possession or rule. This is a different structure
than “the Day of the Lord” but does not inherently lend support to calling the
first day of the week “the Lord’s Day.” In fact, on that great and terrible day
when Christ comes with the shout of the arch-angel and the sound of a trumpet to
judge the nations, every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that He is
Lord. Is that not His day? Is that not the ultimate expression of a day that is
all about the Lord Jesus? Far better, in my opinion, to be in awe of that
Lord’s Day as we meet weekly than to refer to a recurring day by the phrase.
The context of Revelation chapter 1 is a prelude to what
follows in this apocalyptic book; a book filled with repeated looks at the end
of the age, the Day of Judgment, the Day of the Lord. In this book of symbols,
where John doesn’t even list the 12 tribes as they are found in the Old Testament,
I don’t see it as a stretch that he would use a related but different phrase to
refer to what lies before him (the Day of the Lord) in the series of visions he
is about to experience. How a literal day of the week fits into this type of
context is beyond me.
Secondly, if John meant the first day of the week by this
phrase, why did no other apostle see it as such? Aside from the gospel
accounts, which use the phrase “first day of the week” to refer to the day
Christ was raised from the dead, the specific identification of when the saints
met is used only twice that I find. In Acts 20:7 we read, “On the first day
of the week, we assembled to break bread. Paul spoke to them, and since he was
about to depart the next day, he extended his message until midnight.” And in
1 Corinthians 16:2, “On the first day of the week, each of you is to set
something aside and save in keeping with how he prospers, so that no
collections will need to be made when I come.” Paul, who was taught by
Christ (Gal 1:12), didn’t identify the first day of the week as “the Lord’s
Day;” what explains John coming to that conclusion without any record of its
adoption in Scripture?
Thirdly, while history is informative, it is not
authoritative. We know that even Christians can become devoted to religious days
and having some early saints putting a special label on Sunday is not
unexpected. But that doesn’t interpret Revelation 1:10. Paul, again, teaches us
that it’s perfectly acceptable if one esteems a day but another esteems all
days alike (Rom 14:5-6). Why would he say this if the 1st day was
special?
Now I am firmly in agreement that the saints are to meet
regularly – weekly – and have been largely doing this on the first day of the
week. I think what took place on that first day, Christ being raised from the
dead, is holy; and I think what the saints do when we gather (pray, praise,
teach, preach, fellowship) is holy; I do not see the Christian faith being
built on or organized around holy places or holy days. Our faith rests on the
Holy One and is organized around His holy Word.
In Graeme Goldsworthy's Trilogy, he makes this observation in
his The Gospel in Revelation:
It would be surprising indeed if an author so heavily
dependent, as John is, upon the Old Testament did not at some stage introduce
the notion of the day of the Lord to describe the climax of God’s war against
evil. John makes specific mention of the day of God several times. The emphasis
may differ in these, but their relation to the saving action of God can be
confidently affirmed. (page 209)
John’s unique reference to ‘the Lord’s day’ in verse 10 is
usually taken to mean that it was Sunday when he received these visions. If it
can be sustained that the term was used to designate the first day of the week
in John’s time, it still does not detract from the distinct possibility that
John makes reference to the day for its theological overtones rather that to
pass on the trivial piece of information about what day of the week it was.
(page 231)
Goldsworthy makes a lot sense. I won’t fight with one who says Sunday is “the Lord’s Day” and I pray none make calling it such a test of faith or fellowship. Let us gather around the Lord in spirit and in truth each week (on the first day) to exalt Christ and build up His body even as we await His coming on His great and terrible day.
