Please expound on “The Lord’s Day” as written in Revelation 1.
Let’s read Revelation 1:9-11, “I John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ. I was in the Spirit on THE LORD’S DAY, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet, Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea.” This is actually the ONLY TIME the expression “Lord’s Day” is mentioned in the Bible.
We can safely assume that John the Apostle had been banished to the Isle of Patmos “for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.” Patmos was a small rocky and barren island in the Aegean Sea. It was where criminals were often banned. This is the ONLY TIME that Patmos is mentioned in the Bible. It was on THE LORD’S DAY on the isle of PATMOS that the Lord appeared to John with a mission. He was to write all that the Lord showed him. He was also to send that writing to seven different cities in Asia Minor.
It was on this ‘Lord’s Day’ that John was ‘in the spirit’ (greatly under the influence of the Holy Spirit) and was given this book to write. Almost every one of the Christian writers agree that this is in reference to the first day of the week. We read in John 20:1-2, “THE FIRST DAY OF THE WEEK cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre. Then she runneth, and cometh to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and saith unto them, They have taken away the Lord out of the sepulchre, and we know not where they have laid him.” This day was significant because it was on the first day of the week that the Lord Jesus rose from the dead. We then find the first day of the week to be prominent in the early church.
* Acts 20:7, “And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight.”
* 1 Corinthians 16:2, “Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come.”
This is in contrast with the Sabbath Day, which is the LAST DAY of the week. We read in Genesis 2:2-3, “And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.” Exodus 20:10 says, “But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God…” After His death on the cross for us, the Lord Jesus Christ rose from the dead on the first day of the week. We see that the church was meeting on the first day of the week. This day, which was significant in that it honored and acknowledged the Lord, is also known as the Lord’s Day.
It may surprise you to know that the days of the week, according to our calendars, are all named after Norse Gods or some of the planets.
SUNDAY – Named after the sun.
MONDAY – Named after the moon.
TUESDAY – Named after Tiw or Tyr who was a Norse god.
WEDNESDAY – Named after Woden or Odin, another Norse god.
THURSDAY – Named after Thor, yet another Norse god.
FRIDAY – Named after Frigg, a Norse god considered to be as powerful as Odin.
SATURDAY – Named after Saturn, another Norse God.
How good it is to know that John refused to use those names. He simply referred to the first day of the week as the LORD’S DAY. (277.10)