Revelation 1:10 “I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and heard behind me a great voice as of a trumpet,”.
Does this verse say the Sabbath day was changed to Sunday? Answer, no. Rev. 1:10 is often cited as a “proof text” saying Christians should be going to church on Sunday. We will examine what this verse has to say.
What is meant by “in the Spirit”? The apostle John saw a vision from Jesus Himself explaining what was to come before His (Christ’s) return. God has used “visions” throughout history to show man what is to come. God shows Daniel in a “vision” the “latter days”, Dan. 10:14. God shows Peter in a “vision” all men are created equal for salvation in Acts 10:3,17,19. God showed Paul in a “vision” where to travel to next in Acts 16:9. John himself tells us he was in a “vision” in Rev. 9:17.
What is the “Lord’s Day”? The Lord’s Day is the “Day of the Lord.” It is the day of the return of Jesus to rule this world. John puts this in context in Rev. 1:7 “Behold, he cometh with the clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.” For a full explanation of the “Day of the Lord” and the events prophesized to happen see the one page article the “Day of the Lord” at www.cscog7.org , one page Biblical Studies #32.
What is the “great voice, as of a trumpet”? Jesus shall “descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God” (I Thes. 4:16). The Trumpet is the announcement of the return of Jesus as King of Kings and Lord of Lords (Rev.19:16). The trumpet is used to announce Jesus (Zechariah 9:9,14). Trumpets are commonly used to announce the coming of a King or to announce a momentous historical event.
There are three possibilities of what Rev. 1:10 means concerning the “Lord’s day.”
-1 Sunday is the Lord’s day? Was the term, the “Lord’s Day” in common use at the time John wrote Revelation? Answer, no. The earliest references to Sunday as the “Lord’s day” do not show up in history until at least 150 A.D. and then in only three references. “Didache 14:1; Ignatius’ Epistle to the Magnesians 9:1 and the ‘spurious’ Gospel of Peter 35;50”. Bacchiocchi p. 113. To interpret the phrase “on the Lord’s day” as meaning the Sabbath had been changed to Sunday one would have to extrapolate backwards in time with a preconceived belief that Sunday is the Sabbath day. In other words, only someone keeping Sunday as the Lord’s day could look backwards to interpret Rev. 1:10 as Sunday being the Sabbath. This is extremely poor exegesis. Also note, every reference to Sunday in the New Testament calls it “the first day of the week” not the “Lord’s Day”. Rev. 1:10 does not show the church was keeping Sunday as the Sabbath. More info see, Bacchiocchi p. 117
-2 Easter-Sunday is the Lord’s Day? Some believe John was swept into a vision on Easter Sunday thus making it the “Lord’s Day. There is no evidence of this except for the imagination of people. John the apostle kept God’s Holy Days throughout his entire life. He did not keep nor allow into the Church of God pagan ceremonies and practices. See the one-page Biblical study at www.cscog7.org Easter, #54.
-3 The Day of the Lord! This is the correct and only logical meaning of the Lord’s Day as written in Rev. 1:10. The entire book of Revelation is about the future return of Jesus to rule this earth on His day, the Lord’s Day. The Greek in this instance shows “we would expect the “Lord’s Day” to represent not the time but the content of what he saw.” Bacchiocchi p. 129.
Jesus Christ is the “same yesterday, and today and forever” (Heb:13:8). He does not change. He created the seventh day sabbath day and He never changed it. Gen.2:1-3; Ex. 20:8-11; Ex. 31:13-17; Isaiah 58:13; Acts 13:42,44-48; Gal. 3:28; Acts 17:1-2; Acts 18:4; Isa.56:1-7; Isa. 66:18-24; Rev 22:14.
Rev. 1:10 in context is about the “Day of the Lord” and the teaching of end time events. It does not change the Sabbath to Sunday nor does it imply Sunday in any translation of the Bible.