Does Revelation 1:10 and the Sabbath refer to Sunday, called the Lord’s Day, or to the biblical Sabbath?

        The best approach in answering this question is to first read the text in its entirety. It reads: “I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice, as of a trumpet….” Rev. 1:10.

        John says he was in the Spirit on the ‘Lord’s day.’ Well, how do we interpret a biblical word or passage? Methods of biblical interpretation, called hermeneutics, are very helpful. Generally, the Bible must be its own interpreter; in Isaiah 28:10 we are given this injunction. And in 2 Tim. 3:16, 17 we read that All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. 

        So the first method would be to allow the scriptures to interpret itself. By this we mean that one has to see how words, symbols, and expressions, are used in other parts of the Bible. Of course it is very helpful to have an overall understanding of how words and expressions are used in the original languages as we consult the concordances or in the dictionaries, keeping an eye for the context of their usage. With this in mind let us look at our text again, Rev. 1:10. 

        The text writes of being in the Spirit on the ‘Lord’s day.’ So we ask ourselves, does the Bible identify any particular day as the Lord’s day? We must therefor do a search for such an expression in the Bible. In our search for a day that belongs to God we find Isa. 58:13. Here God talks of the Sabbath, the seventh-day, as His holy day; in Exodus 31:13 God speaks of the Sabbaths as His Sabbaths; in Ezekiel 20:12 God says that the Sabbath is to be a sign between Him and them; and that it is a sign that He sanctifies them. 

        In fact, the only day that God has blessed, and sanctified is the Sabbath. We find this in Genesis 2:3. Finally, in Mark 2:28 we find Jesus saying that He, the Son of Man, is Lord also of the Sabbath. 

        Therefore we can safely interpret Rev. 1:10 as saying that the Lord’s day in which John was in vision was the Sabbath day. In our research on the Lord’s day we did not find the word ‘sunday’ in the scriptures; nor did we find that the ‘Lord’s day’ refers to any other day than the Sabbath. May we search the scriptures ourselves that we may know the truth, for it is only the truth that will set us free, John 8:32. May God bless you and cause you to desire His word.

        Pastor Ron is a retired Adventist pastor. Reach him at ron.hende@gmail.com