The Sunday Worship Question
Published 20210708 -:- Revised 20251014P
I am dyslexic so please bear with me. Scripture references are from Modern King James (MKJV) unless noted other wise.
Abbreviations,
References & Equipment
e-Sword -The FREE Bible on line. e-Sword downloads
HCC -History of The Christian Church (by Philip Schaff) 1882 Edition, via e-Sword. [Phrases underlined for easy reference.]
NB: Quotations from old references might be in ‘Ye old English’. They might be somewhat unfamiliar phraseology! But by quoting them verbatim you can use various underlined phrases from the commentaries to search for the references yourself.
Introduction
I listen to a web-cast hosted by a very dear friend, but I have this ‘hiccup’ with some aspects of his preaching. I find these points hard to agree with. And I hope I’ve got his stance correct, he claims the following points: -
- Sunday is not the correct day for Christian worship
it should be Saturday.
- Sunday worship was instigated in 313 by Constantine
or some time later by the pope.
These
issues also crop up with other denominations such as the Seventh Day
Adventists. So I would like to put something together for you to hopefully
answer these questions.
Aim
What
I would like to do with this is:
Firstly,
give you a copy of the scriptures, from various bibles available through e-Sword, that speak of the, “the Lord’s Day”, “the first day of
the week” and the “eighth day”, just to see if there is anything of interest.
Secondly, just look through all the commentary notes found in e-Sword that
speak on those two points above.
Also if you find anything that is incorrect, please, by all means send me an email, or drop a comment below. I look forward to hearing from you; let's start: -
The Lord’s Day
From the ERV (Easy-to-Read Version)
Eze 30:3 “That day is near! Yes, the LORD'S day for judging is near. It will be a cloudy day, the time for judging the nations.
Zep 1:7 “Be silent before the Lord GOD, because the LORD'S day for judging the people is coming soon. The LORD has prepared his sacrifice, and he has told his invited guests to get ready.
Zep 1:8 “The Lord said, "On the LORD'S day of sacrifice, I will punish the king's sons and other leaders. I will punish all the people wearing clothes from other countries.
Rev 1:10 “On the LORD'S day, the Spirit took control of me. I heard a loud voice behind me that sounded like a trumpet.
From the GW (Gods Word Version)
Lev 23:3 “You may work for six days. But the seventh day is a day of worship, a day when you don't work, a holy assembly. Don't do any work. It is the LORD'S day of worship wherever you live.
Rev 1:10 “I came under the Spirit's power on the LORD'S day. I heard a loud voice behind me like a trumpet,
N.B. most versions have this verse in Revelation 1:10
First Day Of The Week MKJV
Search for the phrase, “first day of the week”
Joh 20:19 “Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.
Act 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.
1Co 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.
Others Are
Mat 28:1 “In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre.
Mar 16:2 “And very early in the morning the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun.
Mar 16:9 “Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven devils.
Luk 24:1 “Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them.
Joh 20:1 “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.
The Eighth Day KJV
Exo 22:30 “Likewise shalt thou do with thine oxen, and with thy sheep: seven days it shall be with his dam; on the eighth day thou shalt give it me.
Lev 9:1 “And it came to pass on the eighth day, that Moses called Aaron and his sons, and the elders of Israel;
Lev 12:3 “And in the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised.
Lev 14:10 “And on the eighth day he shall take two he lambs without blemish, and one ewe lamb of the first year without blemish, and three tenth deals of fine flour for a meat offering, mingled with oil, and one log of oil.
Lev 14:23 “And he shall bring them on the eighth day for his cleansing unto the priest, unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, before the LORD.
Lev 15:14 “And on the eighth day he shall take to him two turtledoves, or two young pigeons, and come before the LORD unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and give them unto the priest:
Lev 15:29 “And on the eighth day she shall take unto her two turtles, or two young pigeons, and bring them unto the priest, to the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.
Lev 22:27 “When a bullock, or a sheep, or a goat, is brought forth, then it shall be seven days under the dam; and from the eighth day and thenceforth it shall be accepted for an offering made by fire unto the LORD.
Lev 23:36 “Seven days ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD: on the eighth day shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD: it is a solemn assembly; and ye shall do no servile work therein.
Lev 23:39 “Also in the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when ye have gathered in the fruit of the land, ye shall keep a feast unto the LORD seven days: on the first day shall be a sabbath, and on the eighth day shall be a sabbath.
Num 6:10 “And on the eighth day he shall bring two turtles, or two young pigeons, to the priest, to the door of the tabernacle of the congregation:
Num 7:54 “On the eighth day offered Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur, prince of the children of Manasseh:
Num 29:35 “On the eighth day ye shall have a solemn assembly: ye shall do no servile work therein:
1Ki 8:66 “On the eighth day he sent the people away: and they blessed the king, and went unto their tents joyful and glad of heart for all the goodness that the LORD had done for David his servant, and for Israel his people.
2Ch 7:9 “And in the eighth day they made a solemn assembly: for they kept the dedication of the altar seven days, and the feast seven days.
2Ch 29:17 “Now they began on the first day of the first month to sanctify, and on the eighth day of the month came they to the porch of the LORD: so they sanctified the house of the LORD in eight days; and in the sixteenth day of the first month they made an end.
Neh 8:18 “Also day by day, from the first day unto the last day, he read in the book of the law of God. And they kept the feast seven days; and on the eighth day was a solemn assembly, according unto the manner.
Eze 43:27 “And when these days are expired, it shall be, that upon the eighth day, and so forward, the priests shall make your burnt offerings upon the altar, and your peace offerings; and I will accept you, saith the Lord GOD.
Luk 1:59 “And it came to pass, that on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child; and they called him Zacharias, after the name of his father.
Act 7:8 “And he gave him the covenant of circumcision: and so Abraham begat Isaac, and circumcised him the eighth day; and Isaac begat Jacob; and Jacob begat the twelve patriarchs.
Php 3:5 “Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee;
From The Commentary Notes:
Searching two separate words, ‘Sunday’ & ‘worship’ was too laborious. So changed to phrase, “Sunday worship”.
After eight days — That is, eight days after his resurrection, namely, the next Sunday; again his disciples were within — Were in a private room, as they were before; and Thomas with them — For though he had been absent once, yet he would not be absent a second time. When we have lost one opportunity of receiving good, we should give the more earnest heed to lay hold on the next. Then came Jesus, the doors being shut, as before, and stood in the midst — And they all knew him; for he showed himself now just as he had shown himself before. Our Lord deferred this his second appearance for some time, 1st, To show his disciples that he was not risen to such a life as he had formerly lived, to converse daily and hourly with them, but was as one that belonged to another world, and visited this only as angels do, now and then, when there was occasion. Where Christ was during these eight days, and the rest of the time of his abode on earth, would be folly to inquire, and presumption to determine. Wherever he was, no doubt angels ministered unto him. 2d. He deferred it so long as seven days for three reasons:
1st, That he might put a rebuke on Thomas for his incredulity, and perhaps
also for his negligence. He had not attended the former meeting of the
disciples, and to teach him to prize those seasons of grace better for the
future, he shall not have such another opportunity for several days. A very
melancholy week we have reason to think he had of it; drooping and in suspense,
while the other disciples were full of joy: and the cause was in himself: it
was his own folly and unbelief.
2d, That he might try the faith and patience of the rest of the
disciples. They had gained a great point when they were satisfied that they had
seen the Lord; then were the disciples glad; but he would try whether they could keep
the ground they had gained when they saw no more of him for seven days. And
thus he would gradually wean them from his bodily presence, which they had
doted and depended too much upon.
3d, That he might put an honour upon the first day of the week, and give a plain intimation of his will, that it should be observed in his church as the Christian sabbath, that is, the weekly day of holy rest and holy convocations. That one day in seven should be religiously observed, was an appointment from the beginning; as old as innocence; and that, in the kingdom of the Messiah, the first day in the week should be that solemn day, Christ’s meeting his disciples in a religious assembly once and again on that day was indication sufficient. Add to this, it is highly probable, that in his former appearance to them he had ordered them to come together again that day seven-night, and had promised to meet them, and also that he appeared to them every first day of the week, (besides at some other times,) during forty days. And the religious observance of that day has been from thence transmitted down to us through every age of the church. This therefore is the day which the Lord has made sacred, and appointed for his peculiar worship and service. On this occasion also Christ said, Peace be unto you — Thus saluting them all in a friendly and affectionate manner, as he had done before. And this was no vain repetition, but significant of the abundant and assured peace which he gives, and of the continuance of his blessings upon his people, for they fail not, but are new every morning, new every meeting.
Upon the first day of the week — So κατα μιαν σαββατων here signifies, the Hebrews using the numeral for the ordinal numbers, as Gen 1:5, The evening and the morning were one day; that is, the first day; and also using the word sabbath to denote the week, as Luk 18:12. I fast twice, του σαββατου, in the week. So Mar 16:2, πρωι της μιας σαββατων, early the first day of the week. Let every one of you lay by him in store, &c. — Not the rich only: let him also that hath little gladly give of that little, as God hath prospered him — Increasing his alms as God increases his substance. According to this lowest rule of Christian prudence, if a man, when he has or gains one pound, give a tenth to God, when he has or gains ten pounds, he will give a tenth to God; when he has or gains a hundred, he will give the tenth of this also. “And yet,” says Mr. Wesley, “I show unto you a more excellent way. He that hath ears to hear let him hear: Stint yourself to no proportion at all; but lend to God all you can.” That there be no gatherings — No necessity of making any particular collections; when I come — From these last words it is inferred that θησαυριζων, here rendered laying by him in store, signifies to put his charity into a common box; because, if they had kept it at home, there would have been need of gathering it when the apostle came. But the words εκαστος παρ’ εαυτω τιθετω, let every one place it with himself, admit not of this sense; nor, when each of them had done this, could there be any necessity of making collections; or, as that expression imports, soliciting the charities of others, but only of receiving the contributions thus laid by for the use of the saints. We may observe here, that from the beginning, the Christians were wont to assemble on the first day of the week, called by them the Lord’s day, to perform their religious worship. “This day being the Lord’s day,” saith Dionysius, bishop of Corinth, “we keep it holy.” “On Sunday,” saith Justin, “all Christians in the city or country meet together, because that is the day of our Lord’s resurrection; and then we read the writings of the prophets and apostles. This being done, the president makes an oration to the assembly, to exhort them to imitate and do the things they heard: then we all join in prayer, and after that we celebrate the Lord’s supper.” — See Whitby. And when 1 come — When I am arrived at Corinth; whomsoever ye shall approve by letters — Signed by the members of your church, or their representatives; them will I send to bring your liberality — Greek, την χαριν υμων; literally, your grace; that is, the fruit of your grace, or, your free gift, to Jerusalem, to be there distributed among the poor Christians. And if it be meet — If it be thought proper; that I also should go — Thither on this occasion; they shall go with me — That they may witness for me that no part of the money received has been withheld, but that the whole of it has been delivered with the greatest fidelity, to be employed solely for the purposes for which it was contributed.
III. THE CHANCE FROM SATURDAY TO SUNDAY. Here is a venerable, sacred institution—hallowed by the Creator’s own example in Eden, solemnly enjoined amid the thunders of Sinai, distinctly set apart as one of the chief signs that Israel was God’s chosen, covenanted people, majestically buttressed by loftiest promises in case of observance, and by direst threats in case of non-observance, freighted with the solemn weight of fifteen centuries of sacred associations and scrupulous observance—suddenly falling into disuse, and presently supplanted by another day, which to this year of grace has held its own amid the throes of eighteen centuries. How, then, will you account for this stupendous revolution? It is a fair question for the philosophical historian to ask. And the philosophical historian knows the answer. Jesus the Nazarene had been crucified. All through the seventh day or Hebrew Sabbath He had lain in Joseph’s tomb. In that tomb, amid solitude and darkness and grave-clothes, He had grappled in mortal duel with the king of death, and had thrown him, and shivered his sceptre. At the close of that awful Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week (
Mat 28:1), He had risen triumphant from the dead. And by and in the very fact
of that triumphant rising, He had henceforth and for evermore emblazoned the
first day of the week as His own royal, supernal day, even time’s first, true
Sabbath.
IV. JESUS CHRIST HIMSELF IS OUR SABBATH, alike its origin, its meaning, and its end. In fact the final cause of the Sabbath is to sabbatize each day and make all life sacramental. And Jesus Christ being our true Sabbath, Jesus Christ is also our true rest-even the spirit’s ever lasting Eden. (G.D.Boardman.)
And God established with Israel a covenant that they should keep that Sabbath day through all their generations. Someone said, "Well when did the church start worshipping on Sunday?" And those of the church who still enjoy worshipping on Saturday try to blame Constantine for the change to Sunday worship. But there are indications; even in the book of Acts that they were gathering together on the first day of the week to break bread. Also in the letter to the Corinthians, Paul talks about when they gathered together on the first day of the week, to bring their offerings in so that there’ll be no collections taken while he was there. Tertulian, one of the early church fathers, who antedates the Constantine and the whole development under Constantine, said that there were many Christians in that day who felt that the only day, really in which they should take communion was the first day of the week because that was the day that marked the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Also Refer CN by Chuck Smith on Exodus 20:1-26
It is interesting for me to note that it records that they had gathered together on the first day of the week to break bread. So often you will hear the Seventh Day Adventist or others such as Herbert W. Armstrong who believe in Sabbath day worship. You will hear them declare that worshipping on Sunday did not begin until Constantine and he was the one who introduced Sunday worship to the church. Not so. There seems to be indications that the Gentile church worshipped on Sunday, almost from the beginning. Here we find the Gentile church gathering together on Sunday, the first day of the week, to break bread. One of the early church fathers, Tertullian, said that in as much as Jesus rose on the first day of the week, they felt that was the only day really in which the church should break bread. I don’t go along with Tertullian, but it seems that as early as the time of Tertullian, which was before Constantine, that the first day of the week was already a common practice in the gathering of the church.
Now, on what day are we to worship the Lord? On Saturday or on Sunday? If we worship on Saturday, are we then to follow the Jewish custom of the day begins at sundown and should we began worshipping God on Friday evening as the sun goes down and worship until Saturday evening sundown? Or is Sunday the day that we should worship the Lord? There are those who are very vehement in their feeling that Saturday is the only day to worship the Lord, and if you worship the Lord on Sunday that is paramount to taking the mark of the beast, for Sunday worship is the mark of the beast because Sunday was actually named after the sun god-Sunday. And thus, it was after the sun god. Thus, we ought to worship on Saturday, but they don’t tell you that is named after the god Saturn.
Vol. 2, Ch. 05, § 059-065 …. Chapter V. Christian Worship
§ 60. The Lord’s Day
See Lit. in vol. I.
The celebration of the Lord’s Day in memory of the resurrection of Christ dates undoubtedly from the apostolic age. Nothing short of apostolic precedent can account for the universal religious observance in the churches of the second century. There is no dissenting voice. This custom is confirmed by the testimonies of the earliest post-apostolic writers, as Barnabas, Ignatius, and Justin Martyr. It is also confirmed by the younger Pliny. The Didache calls the first day “the Lord’s Day of the Lord.”
Considering that the church was struggling into existence, and that a
large number of Christians were slaves of heathen masters, we cannot expect an
unbroken regularity of worship and a universal cessation of labor on Sunday
until the civil government in the time of Constantine came to the help of the
church and legalized (and in part even enforced) the observance of the Lord’s
Day. This may be the reason why the religious observance of it was not
expressly enjoined by Christ and the apostles; as for similar reasons there is
no prohibition of polygamy and slavery by the letter of the New Testament,
although its spirit condemns these abuses, and led to their abolition. We may
go further and say that coercive Sunday laws are against the genius and spirit
of the Christian religion which appeals to the free will of man, and uses only
moral means for its ends. A Christian government may and ought to protect the
Christian Sabbath against open desecration, but its positive observance
by attending public worship, must be left to the conscientious conviction of
individuals. Religion cannot be forced by law. It looses its value when it
ceases to be voluntary.
The history of the controversy divides itself into three acts.
1. The difference came into discussion first on a visit of Polycarp, bishop of Smyrna, to Anicetus, bishop of Rome, between a.d. 150 and 155. It was not settled; yet the two bishops parted in peace, after the latter had charged his venerable guest to celebrate the holy communion in his church. We have a brief, but interesting account of this dispute by Irenaeus, a pupil of Polycarp, which is as follows:
“When the blessed Polycarp sojourned at Rome in the days of Anicetus,
and they had some little difference of opinion likewise with regard to other
points, they forthwith came to a peaceable understanding on this head [the
observance of Easter], having no love for mutual disputes. For neither could
Anicetus persuade Polycarp not to observe inasmuch as he [Pol.] had always observed
with John, the disciple of our Lord, and the other apostles, with whom he had
associated; nor did Polycarp persuade Anicetus to observe (τηρεῖν) who said that he was bound to maintain
the custom of the presbyters (= bishops) before him. These things being so,
they communed together; and in the church Anicetus yielded to Polycarp, out of
respect no doubt, the celebration of the eucharist (τὴν
εὐχαριστίαν), and they separated from each other in peace, all the
church being at peace, both those that observed and those that did not observe
[the fourteenth of Nisan], maintaining peace.”
This letter proves that the Christians of the days of Polycarp knew how
to keep the unity of the Spirit without uniformity of rites and ceremonies.
“The very difference in our fasting,” says Irenaeus in the same letter,
“establishes the unanimity in our faith.”
Easter was followed by the festival of Pentecost. It rested on the Jewish feast of harvest. It was universally observed, as early as the second century, in commemoration of the appearances and heavenly exaltation of the risen Lord, and had throughout a joyous character. It lasted through fifty days — Quinquagesima — which were celebrated as a continuous Sunday, by daily communion, the standing posture in prayer, and the absence of all fasting. Tertullian says that all the festivals of the heathen put together will not make up the one Pentecost of the Christians. During that period the Acts of the Apostles were read in the public service (and are read to this day in the Greek church).
Subsequently the celebration was limited to the fortieth day as the
feast of the Ascension, and the fiftieth day, or Pentecost proper (Whitsunday)
as the feast of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and the birthday of the
Christian Church. In this restricted sense Pentecost closed the cycle of our
Lord’s festivals (the semestre Domini), among which it held the third
place (after Easter and Christmas). It was also a favorite time for baptism,
especially the vigil of the festival.
The earliest description of the Christian worship is given us by a heathen, the younger Pliny, a.d. 109, in his well-known letter to Trajan, which embodies the result of his judicial investigations in Bithynia. According to this, the Christians assembled on an appointed day (Sunday) at sunrise, sang responsively a song to Christ as to God, and then pledged themselves by an oath (sacramentum) not to do any evil work, to commit no theft, robbery, nor adultery, not to break their word, nor sacrifice property intrusted to them. Afterwards (at evening) they assembled again, to eat ordinary and innocent food (the agape).
This account of a Roman official then bears witness to the primitive
observance of Sunday, the separation of the love-feast from the morning worship
(with the communion), and the worship of Christ as God in song.
Justin Martyr, at the close of his larger Apology, describes the public
worship more particularly, as it was conducted about the year 140. After giving
a full account of baptism and the holy Supper, to which we shall refer again,
he continues:
“On Sunday a meeting of all, who live in the cities and villages, is
held, and a section from the Memoirs of the Apostles (the Gospels) and the
writings of the Prophets (the Old Testament) is read, as long as the time
permits. When the reader has finished, the president, in a discourse, gives all
exhortation to the imitation of these noble things. After this we all rise in
common prayer. At the close of the prayer, as we have before described, bread
and wine with water are brought. The president offers prayer and thanks for
them, according to the power given him, and the congregation responds the Amen.
Then the consecrated elements are distributed to each one, and partaken, and
are carried by the deacons to the houses of the absent. The wealthy and the
willing then give contributions according to their free will, and this
collection is deposited with the president, who therewith supplies orphans and
widows, poor and needy, prisoners and strangers, and takes care of all who are
in want. We assemble in common on Sunday because this is the first day, on which
God created the world and the light, and because Jesus Christ our Saviour on
the same day rose from the dead and appeared to his disciples.”
Here, reading of the Scriptures, preaching (and that as an episcopal
function), prayer, and communion, plainly appear as the regular parts of the Sunday
worship; all descending, no doubt, from the apostolic age. Song is not
expressly mentioned here, but elsewhere. The communion is not yet clearly
separated from the other parts of worship. But this was done towards the end of
the second century.
The eighth book of the Apostolical Constitutions contains already an elaborate service with sundry liturgical prayers.
The celebration of the Eucharist or holy communion with appropriate prayers of the faithful was the culmination of Christian worship. Justin Martyr gives us the following description, which still bespeaks the primitive simplicity: “After the prayers [of the catechumen worship] we greet one another with the brotherly kiss. Then bread and a cup with water and wine are handed to the president (bishop) of the brethren. He receives them, and offers praise, glory, and thanks to the Father of all, through the name of the Son and the Holy Spirit, for these his gifts. When he has ended the prayers and thanksgiving, the whole congregation responds: ‘Amen.’ For ‘Amen’ in the Hebrew tongue means: ‘Be it so.’ Upon this the deacons, as we call them, give to each of those present some of the blessed bread, and of the wine mingled with water, and carry it to the absent in their dwellings. This food is called with us the
eucharist, of which none can partake, but the believing and baptized, who live according to the commands of Christ. For we use these not as common bread and common drink; but like as Jesus Christ our Redeemer was made flesh through the word of God, and took upon him flesh and blood for our redemption; so we are taught, that the nourishment blessed by the word of prayer, by which our flesh and blood are nourished by transformation (assimilation), is the flesh and blood of the incarnate Jesus.” Then he relates the institution from the Gospels, and mentions the customary collections for the poor.
We are not warranted in carrying back to this period the full liturgical service, which we find prevailing with striking uniformity in essentials, though with many variations in minor points, in all quarters of the church in the Nicene age. A certain simplicity and freedom characterized the period before us. Even the so-called Clementine liturgy, in the eighth book of the pseudo-Apostolical Constitutions, was probably not composed and written out in this form before the fourth century. There is no trace of written liturgies during the Diocletian persecution. But the germs (late from the second century. The oldest eucharistic prayers have recently come to light in the Didache,which contains three thanksgivings, for the cup, the broken bread, and for all mercies. (chs. 9 and 10.) From scattered statements of the ante-Nicene fathers we may gather the following view of the eucharistic service as it may have stood in the middle of the third century, if not earlier.
The communion was a regular and the most solemn part of the Sunday
worship; or it was the worship of God in the stricter sense, in which
none but full members of the church could engage. In many places and by many
Christians it was celebrated even daily, after apostolic precedent, and
according to the very common mystical interpretation of the fourth petition of
the Lord’s prayer. The service began, after the dismission of the catechumens,
with the kiss of peace, given by the men to men, and by the women to women, in
token of mutual recognition as members of one redeemed family in the midst of a
heartless and loveless world. It was based upon apostolic precedent, and is
characteristic of the childlike simplicity, and love and joy of the early
Christians. The service proper consisted of two principal acts: the oblation,
or presenting of the offerings of the congregation by the deacons for the
ordinance itself, and for the benefit of the clergy and the poor; and the
communion, or partaking of the consecrated elements. In the oblation the
congregation at the same time presented itself as a living thank-offering; as
in the communion it appropriated anew in faith the sacrifice of Christ, and
united itself anew with its Head. Both acts were accompanied and consecrated by
prayer and songs of praise.
[Ref CN by Albert Barnes on Revelation 1:10
On the Lord’s day - The word rendered here as “Lord’s” (κυριακῇ kuriakē), occurs only in this place and in 1Co 11:20, where it is applied to the Lord’s supper. It properly means “pertaining to the Lord”; and, so far as this word is concerned, it might mean a day “pertaining to the Lord,” in any sense, or for any reason; either because he claimed it as his own, and had set it apart for his own service, or because it was designed to commemorate some important event pertaining to him, or because it was observed in honor of him. It is clear:
(2) That it was a day which was for some reason regarded as especially a day of the Lord, or especially devoted to him.
(3) It would further appear that this was a day particularly devoted to the Lord Jesus; for:
(a) That is the natural meaning of the word “Lord” as used in the New Testament (compare the notes on Act 1:24); and
(b) If the Jewish Sabbath were intended to be designated, the word “Sabbath” would have been used.
The term was used generally by the early Christians to denote the first
day of the week. It occurs twice in the Epistle of Ignatius to the Magnesians
(about 101 a.d.), who calls the Lord’s day “the queen and prince of all days.”
Chrysostom (on Ps. 119) says, “It was called the Lord’s day because the Lord rose from the dead on
that day.” Later fathers make a marked distinction between the “Sabbath” and
the “Lord’s day”; meaning by the former the Jewish “Sabbath,” or the seventh
day of the week, and by the latter the first day of the week, kept holy by
Christians. So Theodoret (Fab. Haeret. ii. 1), speaking of the Ebionites, says,
“They keep the Sabbath according to the Jewish law, and sanctify the
Lord’s day in like manner as
we do” (Prof. Stuart). The strong probability is, that the name was given to
this day in honor of the Lord Jesus, and because he rose on that day from the
dead. No one can doubt that it was an appellation given to the first day of the
week; and the passage, therefore, proves:
(2) That it was in some sense regarded as devoted to the Lord Jesus, or was designed in some way to commemorate what he had done; and,
(3) That if this book were written by the apostle John, the observance of that day has the apostolic sanction. He had manifestly, in accordance with a prevailing custom, set apart this day in honor of the Lord Jesus. Though alone, he was engaged on that day in acts of devotion. Though far away from the sanctuary, he enjoyed what all Christians hope to enjoy on such a day of rest, and what not a few do in fact enjoy in its observance. We may remark, in view of this statement:
(a) that when away from the sanctuary, and deprived of its privileges,
we should nevertheless not fail to observe the Christian Sabbath. If on a bed
of sickness, if in a land of strangers, if on the deep, if in a foreign clime,
if on a lonely island, as John was, where we have none of the advantages of
public worship, we should yet honor the Sabbath. We should worship God alone,
if we have none to unite with us; we should show to those around us, if we are
with strangers, by our dress and our conversation, by a serious and devent
manner, by abstinence from labor, and by a resting from travel, that we
devoutly regard this day as set apart for God.
(b) We may expect, in such circumstances, and with such a devout
observance of the day, that God will meet with us and bless us. It was on a
lonely island, far away from the sanctuary and from the society of Christian
friends, that the Saviour met “the beloved disciple,” and we may trust it will
be so with us. For on such a desert island, in a lonely forest, on the deep, or
amid strangers in a foreign land, he can as easily meet us as in the sanctuary
where we have been accustomed to worship, and when surrounded by all the
privileges of a Christian land. No man, at home or abroad, among friends or
strangers, enjoying the privileges of the sanctuary, or deprived of those
privileges, ever kept the Christian Sabbath in a devout manner without profit
to his own soul; and, when deprived of the privileges of public worship, the
visitations of the Saviour to the soul may be more than a compensation for all
our privations. Who would not be willing to be banished to a lonely island like
Patmos, if he might enjoy such a glorious vision of the Redeemer as John was
favored with there?
On the Lord’s day — On this our Lord rose from the dead. On this the ancients believed he would come to judgment. It was therefore with the utmost propriety that St. John on this day both saw and described his coming.
the Lord’s day] Undoubtedly here used (though for the first time) in the sense now traditional throughout Christendom. Many of the early Fathers, Ignatius, Justin Martyr, Clement of Alexandria, Tertullian, &c. use the word of the First Day of the week. A few commentators have proposed to translate, “I was, in spirit, on the day of the Lord,” i.e. was carried away in spirit to the Great Day of the Lord’s Coming; but the reference to Rev 4:2 refutes this.
The Lord’s day - The first day of the week, observed as the Christian Sabbath, because on it Jesus Christ rose from the dead; therefore it was called the Lord’s day, and has taken place of the Jewish Sabbath throughout the Christian world.
I was in the (h) Spirit on the (i) Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet,
I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day,.... Not on the Jewish sabbath, which was now abolished, nor was that ever called the Lord's day, and had John meant that, he would have said on the sabbath day; much less the Jewish passover, but the first day of the week is designed; so the Ethiopic version renders it "on the first day"; and is so called just as the ordinance of the supper is called the Lord's supper, being instituted by the Lord, and the Lord's table, 1Co 10:21, and that because it was the day in which our Lord rose from the dead, Mar 16:9; and in which he appeared at different times to his disciples, Joh 20:19, and which the primitive churches set apart for his worship and service, and on which they met together to hear the word, and attend on ordinances, Act 20:7; and Justin Martyr (z) tells us, who lived within about fifty years after this time, that on the day called τη του ηλιου ημερα, "Sunday", (by the Greeks,) the Christians met together in one place, and read the Scriptures, and prayed together, and administered the ordinance of the supper; and this, he adds, was the first day in which God created the World, and our Saviour Jesus Christ rose from the dead; yea, Barnabas (a), the companion of the Apostle Paul, calls this day the eighth day, in distinction from the seventh day sabbath of the Jews, and which he says is the beginning of another world; and therefore we keep the eighth day, adds he, joyfully, in which Jesus rose from the dead, and being manifested, ascended unto heaven: and this day was known by the ancients by the name of "the Lord's day"; as by Ignatius (b), Irenaeus (c), Tertullian (d), Origen (e), and others; for it must be some day that was known by this name, otherwise it is mentioned to no purpose, because it would not be distinctive from others; for which reason it cannot merely design the day in which John saw this vision, because the Lord appeared on it to him, for this would not distinguish it from any other day. Some have conjectured that this was not the weekly Lord's day observed by the Christians, but the anniversary of Christ's resurrection; and so the Ethiopians still call Easter "Schambatah Crostos", the sabbath of Christ: to understand it of the former is best. Now, though John was driven from the house and worship of God, and could not join with the saints in the public worship of that day; yet he was employed in spiritual contemplations and exercises, and was under a more than ordinary influence of the Spirit of God; and his spirit or soul was wholly intent upon, and taken up with divine and spiritual things, with visions and representations that were made unto his mind, which he perceived in his spirit, and not with the organs of his body; he was in an ecstasy of spirit, and knew not scarcely whether he was in the body or out of it:
on the Lord’s day — Though forcibly detained from Church communion with the brethren in the sanctuary on the Lord’s day, the weekly commemoration of the resurrection, John was holding spiritual communion with them. This is the earliest mention of the term, “the Lord’s day.” But the consecration of the day to worship, almsgiving, and the Lord’s Supper, is implied in Act 20:7; 1Co 16:2; compare Joh 20:19-26. The name corresponds to “the Lord’s Supper,” 1Co 11:20. Ignatius seems to allude to “the Lord’s day” [Epistle to the Magnesians, 9], and Irenaeus [Quaest ad Orthod., 115] (in Justin Martyr). Justin Martyr [Apology, 2.98], etc., “On Sunday we all hold our joint meeting; for the first day is that on which God, having removed darkness and chaos, made the world, and Jesus Christ our Savior rose from the dead. On the day before Saturday they crucified Him; and on the day after Saturday, which is Sunday, having appeared to His apostles and disciples, He taught these things.” To the Lord’s day Pliny doubtless refers [Epistles, Book X., p. 97], “The Christians on a fixed day before dawn meet and sing a hymn to Christ as God,” etc. Tertullian [The Chaplet, 3], “On the Lord’s day we deem it wrong to fast.” Melito, bishop of Sardis (second century), wrote a book on the Lord’s day [Eusebius 4.26]. Also, Dionysius of Corinth, in Eusebius [Ecclesiastical History, 4.23, 8]. Clement of Alexandria [Miscellanies, 5. and 7.12]; Origen [Against Celsus, 8. 22]. The theory that the day of Christ’s second coming is meant, is untenable. “The day of the Lord” is different in the Greek from “the Lord’s (an adjective) day,” which latter in the ancient Church always designates our Sunday, though it is not impossible that the two shall coincide (at least in some parts of the earth), whence a tradition is mentioned in Jerome [Commentary on Matthew, 25], that the Lord’s coming was expected especially on the Paschal Lord’s day. The visions of the Apocalypse, the seals, trumpets, and vials, etc., are grouped in sevens, and naturally begin on the first day of the seven, the birthday of the Church, whose future they set forth [Wordsworth].
On the Lord's day. The day of the Lord's Resurrection, the first day of the week. In the earlier apostolic writings the day was called "the first day of the week," but by the close of the century it began to be called "the Lord's day," as here. Epistles of Barnabas, Ignatius and Dionysius, written near this time, so style it, and the name is of common occurrence from this time onward, and is confined to Sunday. It is not confounded with the "Sabbath day" of many centuries. See Dr. Wm. Smith's Unabridged Dictionary of the Bible, article "Lord's Day."
On the Lord’s Day (en tēi kuriakēi hēmerāi). Deissmann has proven (Bible Studies, p. 217f.; Light, etc., p. 357ff.) from inscriptions and papyri that the word kuriakos was in common use for the sense “imperial” as imperial finance and imperial treasury and from papyri and ostraca that hēmera Sebastē (Augustus Day) was the first day of each month, Emperor’s Day on which money payments were made (cf. 1Co 16:1.). It was easy, therefore, for the Christians to take this term, already in use, and apply it to the first day of the week in honour of the Lord Jesus Christ’s resurrection on that day (Didache 14, Ignatius Magn. 9). In the N.T. the word occurs only here and 1Co 11:20 (kuriakon deipnon the Lord's Supper). It has no reference to hēmera kuriou (the day of judgment, 2Pe 3:10).
On the Lord’s day. The expression occurs here only in the New Testament, and beyond all reasonable doubt it means "on Sunday." This is, therefore, the earliest use of the phrase in this sense. That it means Easter Day or Pentecost is baseless conjecture. The phrase had not yet become common in A.D. 57, as is shown from St. Paul writing, "on the first of the week" (1Co 16:2), the usual expression in the Gospels and Acts. But from Ignatius onwards, we have a complete chain of evidence that ἡ Κυριακή became the regular Christian name for the first day of the week; and Κυριακή is still the name of Sunday in the Levant. "No longer observing sabbaths, but fashioning their lives after the Lord’s day" (Ign., ’Magn.,’ 9.). Melito, Bishop of Sardis, wrote a treatise περί Κυριακῆς (Eusebius, ’Hist. Eccl.,’ IV. 26:2). Dionysius of Corinth, in an epistle to the Romans, mentions that the Church of Corinth is that day keeping the Lord’s holy day (Eusebius, ’Hist. Eccl.,’ IV. 23.11). Comp. also Clem. Alex., ’Strom.,’ VII. 12.98; Tertull., ’De Con.,’ 3. and ’De Idol.,’ 14., where Dominicus dies is obviously a translation of Κυριακὴ ἡμέρα; and fragment 7 of the lost works of Irenaeus. That "the Lord’s day" (ἡ Κυριακὴ ἡμέρα) in this place is the same as "the day of the Lord" (ἡ ἡμέρα τοῦ Κυίου) is not at all probable. The context is quite against any such meaning as that St. John is spiritually transported to the day of judgment. Contrast Rev 6:17; Rev 16:14; 1Jn 4:17; Joh 6:39, Joh 6:40, Joh 6:44, Joh 6:54; Joh 11:24; Joh 12:48. Whereas, seeing that the visions which follow are grouped in sevens (the seven candlesticks, seven seals, seven trumpets, seven vials), the fact that they begin on the first day of the seven is eminently appropriate.
On the Lord’s day. Certainly not the last day, the great day of judgment, known in the New Testament by a different expression, ‘the day of the Lord,’ and before which, not on which, the events of the Apocalypse take place, but the first day of the week (comp. the expression used by St. Paul, ‘the Lord’s Supper,’ in 1Co 11:20). Yet the words are not to be regarded as a simple designation of the first day of the week in its distinction from the others. The nature and character of the day are to be kept particularly in view. It is the day of the ‘Lord,’ the risen and glorified Lord, the day of Him who, thus risen and glorified, had founded that Church against which no enemies shall prevail. Wrapt therefore in contemplation of the glory of this Lord; not simply with the peaceful influences of the day of rest diffused over his soul, but dwelling amidst the thoughts of that authority and power which are possessed by the risen Jesus at the right hand of the Father, St. John receives the revelation which is here communicated to him.
It was the apostle's comfort that he did not suffer as an evil-doer, but for the testimony of Jesus, for bearing witness to Christ as the Immanuel, the Saviour; and the Spirit of glory and of God rested upon this persecuted apostle. The day and time when he had this vision was the Lord's day, the Christian sabbath, the first day of the week, observed in remembrance of the resurrection of Christ. Let us who call him “Our Lord,” honour him on his own day. The name shows how this sacred day should be observed; the Lord's day should be wholly devoted to the Lord, and none of its hours employed in a sensual, worldly manner, or in amusements. He was in a serious, heavenly, spiritual frame, under the gracious influences of the Spirit of God. Those who would enjoy communion with God on the Lord's day, must seek to draw their thoughts and affections from earthly things. And if believers are kept on the Lord's holy day, from public ordinances and the communion of saints, by necessity and not by choice, they may look for comfort in meditation and secret duties, from the influences of the Spirit; and by hearing the voice and contemplating the glory of their beloved Saviour, from whose gracious words and power no confinement or outward circumstances can separate them. An alarm was given as with the sound of the trumpet, and then the apostle heard the voice of Christ.
In his rocky solitude the Apostle was ‘in the Spirit,’ -by which is, of course, not meant the condition in which every Christian should ever be, but such a state of elevated consciousness and communion as Paul was in when he was caught up to the heavens. No doubt John had been meditating on the unforgotten events of that long-past day of resurrection, which he was observing in his islet by solitary worship, as he had often observed it with his brethren in Ephesus; and his devout thoughts made him the more capable of supernatural communications. Whether the name of the first day of the week as ‘the Lord’s Day’ originated with this passage, or had already become common, is uncertain. But, at all events, it was plainly regarded as the day for Christian worship. Solitary souls, far away from the gatherings of Christ’s people, may still draw near to Him; and if they turn thought and love towards Him, they will be lifted above this gross earth, and bear that great voice speaking to them, which rose above the dash of waves, and thrilled the inward ear of the lonely exile. That voice, penetrating and clear like a trumpet, gave him his charge, and woke his expectation of visions to follow.
On the Lord's day (ἐν κυριακῇ ἡμέρᾳ) The phrase occurs only here in the New Testament. The first day of the week, the festival of the Lord's resurrection. Not, as some, the day of judgment, which in the New Testament is expressed by ἡ ἡμέρα τοῦ Κυρίου the day of the Lord (2Th 2:2); or ἡμέρα Κυρίου the day of the Lord, the article being omitted (2Pe 3:10); or ἡμέρα Χριστοῦ the day of Christ (Php 2:16). The usual New Testament expression for the first day of the week is ἡ μία τῶν σαββάτων (Luk 24:1; see on Act 20:7).
[Ref CN from Sermon Bible on Revelation 1:10
The Lord’s Day.
I. What is the meaning of the expression, "the Lord’s Day"?
Does it mean the day of judgment, and is St. John saying that in an ecstacy he
beheld the last judgment of God? Undoubtedly "the day of the Lord" is
an expression often applied to the day of judgment in the Old and New
Testaments, but such a meaning would not serve St. John’s purpose here; he is
plainly giving the date of his great vision, not the scene to which it
introduced him, and just as he says that it took place in the isle of Patmos,
thus marking the place, so he says that it was on the Lord’s Day,
thus marking the time. Does the phrase, then, mean the annual feast of our
Lord’s resurrection from the dead—our Easter Day? That day, as we know from the
Epistle to the Corinthians, we are to keep "not with old leaven, neither
with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of
sincerity and truth"; but it could hardly have served for a date, because
in those days, as some time afterwards, there were different opinions in the
Church as to the day on which properly the festival should be kept. If the
Lord’s Day had meant Easter Day, it would not have settled the date of
the revelation without some further specification. Does the phrase, then, mean
the Sabbath day of the Mosaic law? If St. John had meant the Sabbath, the seventh
day of the week, he would certainly have used the word "Sabbath"; he
would not have used another word which the Christian Church, from the day of:
he Apostles downwards, has applied, not to the seventh day of the week, but to
the first. There is indeed no real reason for doubting that by the Lord’s
Day St. John meant the first day of the week, or, as we should say,
Sunday. Our Lord Jesus Christ has made that day in a special sense His own by
rising on it from the dead and by connecting it with His first six appearances
after His resurrection.
II. What are the principles which are recognised in the observance of
the "Lord’s Day" by the Church of Christ? (1) The first principle
embodied is the duty of consecrating a certain portion of time, at least
one-seventh, to the service of God. This principle is common to the Jewish
Sabbath and to the Christian Lord’s Day. And such a consecration implies two
things: it implies a separation of the thing or person consecrated from all
others and a communication to it or him of a quality of holiness or purity
which was not possessed before. (2) A second principle in the Lord’s Day
is the periodical suspension of human toil. This also is common to the Jewish
Sabbath and the Christian Lord’s Day. The Jewish Sabbath and the Christian
Lord’s Day, while agreeing in affirming two principles, differ in two
noteworthy respects: (1) they differ in being kept on distinct days; (2) in the
reason or motive for observing them. The Christian motive for observing the
Lord’s Day is the resurrection of Christ from the dead; that truth is
to the Christian creed what the creation of the world out of nothing is to the
Jewish creed; it is the fundamental truth on which all else that is
distinctively Christian rests, and it is just as much put forward by the
Christian Apostles as is the creation of all things out of nothing by the
Jewish creed. (3) A third principle is the necessity of the public worship of
God. The cessation of ordinary work is not enjoined upon Christians only that
they may while away the time or spend it in self-pleasing or in something
worse. The Lord’s Day is the day of days, on which Jesus our Lord
has a first claim. In the Church of Jesus the first duty of the Christian is to
seek to hold converse with the risen Lord.
H. P. Liddon, From the Christian World Pulpit.
Christianity would seem to have altered the law of the Sabbath
precisely where we might have expected it might be altered—in those parts which
were of positive, not of moral, obligation. Our Saviour, who, being the
coeternal Son of God, is Lord also of the Sabbath day, modified the mode in
which it is to be hallowed partly by relaxing the literal strictness of the
precept, "Thou shalt do no manner of work," and permitting
works of necessity and of mercy, but principally by removing the false glosses
with which superstition and human traditions had disfigured the true meaning of
the commandment.
I. Even if the Decalogue or the Fourth Commandment were abrogated by
the Gospel, and the Lord’s Day were but a Christian ordinance
sanctioned by our Lord, either immediately by His own presence and approval, or
mediately by His Apostles acting under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, we
should still be bound to keep it in the same way as if it were the Sabbath
transferred from the old dispensation to the new, if, at least, the early
Christians may be admitted as witnesses of the meaning of what on this
supposition was their own ordinance. With them the first day of the week was
not a day of unnecessary work or a day of amusement, but a holy day, set apart
from the rest for special public worship and cheerful thanksgiving. So much,
indeed, might be inferred from the very name, "the Lord’s Day."
Chrysostom, Augustine, and others warned Christians against the example of the
Jews of their days who made the Sabbath a time for dancing, banqueting, and
luxurious self-indulgence. The truth is, Christians held the first day of the
week to be the Lord’s Day, and kept it as such, not with idle
scrupulosity, but with honesty of purpose. Accordingly any work, however
laborious, if necessary or compulsory, they would have done with a quiet
conscience; but unnecessary work they would have felt a sin. A slave unable to
obtain his freedom would have done his master’s bidding unhesitatingly and cheerfully;
a free man would not have followed his worldly calling on the Lord’s Day.
Amusements would have been felt more discordant with the Lord’s Day
than work. They were not necessary; they could not be compulsory; they had
nothing to do with the special service of God for which that day was hallowed.
They were, therefore, simply wrong. "It is commanded you," writes St.
Augustine, "to observe the Sabbath spiritually, not as the Jews observe
theirs, in carnal ease—for they wish to have leisure for their trifles and
their luxuries—for a Jew would be better employed in doing something useful in
his field than in sitting turbulently in the theatre."
II. It is a matter of little practical moment, then, the obligation on
which our observance of the Sunday rests. Whether it is the primal Sabbath,
re-enacted on Sinai and continued in the Christian code with modifications in
its positive and non-essential details, or whether it is the Christian
ordinance of the Lord’s Day to be understood and interpreted by
the practice of the early Christians, it is undoubtedly a day set apart and
holy to the Lord. It is His special portion of our time, dedicated to Him for
His glory and for our good. Its peculiar duties are public worship, religious
meditation and instruction, and the celebration of the Lord’s Supper in
remembrance of Christ. Its spirit is a calm and collected mind, undisturbed by
worldly cares and unexcited by worldly amusements, in tune with holy thoughts
and the exercises of religion, and open to all the cheerful influences of home
and family affection, and charity, and benevolence.
III. With this general principle before us, (1) we must be very slow to
judge and very cautious to condemn others for their manner of observing the
Lord’s Day. They have the same rule with us; they are to apply it by
the aid of their own conscience. To their own Master they stand or fall. (2)
But though indulgent in our judgment of others, we must not be too indulgent of
ourselves. Scruples and nice distinctions, indeed, austerity and gloom, the
obedience of the letter, not of the spirit, are alien, it has been said, to the
true character of the Christian Lord’s Day; and he who is free from such
scruples and doubts, as he is always the happiest, will often be the holiest
man. A healthy faith and a devout heart will usually discern by a kind of
spiritual instinct what may and what may not be done. But the important
practical rule for all of us is this: "Let every one be fully persuaded in
his own mind." (3) We must be careful not to impose needless labour on
others, and should help and encourage them, as well as we may, to enjoy rest on
the day of rest. "If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing
thy pleasure on My holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight, holy of the Lord,
honourable, and shalt honour Him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine
own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words, then shalt thou delight thyself in
the Lord; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and
feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father; for the mouth of the Lord hath
spoken it."
J. Jackson, Penny Pulpit, New Series, No. 627.
References: Rev 1:10.—Homiletic
Quarterly, vol. ii., p. 267. Rev 1:10-20.—Expositor,
1st series, vol. ii., p. 115. Rev 1:12-17.—Spurgeon,
Sermons, vol. vii., No. 357.
I have always believed that Saturday is the true Sabbath, but I also see Sunday as a special day to worship the Lord. I can now see why Paul said in Romans 14:5 “One indeed esteems a day above another day; and another esteems every day alike. Let each one be fully assured in his own mind”.
Hear are a few of my other talks: -
This question when answered will shed considerable light on Daniel’s 70 weeks prophecy. An in depth study of Daniel's Seventy Weeks prophecy of Daniel chapter 9. Showing why the whole prophecy should have been concluded by about 38A.D.
A short story of what Stanley went through cutting a blood covenant so that he could explore darkest Africa in search of Dr Livingston. Then looking at the comparison with your covenant with Jesus Christ.
This is meant to be a good laugh!
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Hope you found that of interest
GBY (God Bless Ya!)
Yours Adrian
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