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Did John Mean SUNDAY?

The Lord’s Day Debate: Did John Mean SUNDAY or JUDGMENT DAY?

A Simple Question with Huge Consequences

In the Book of Revelation, the Apostle John, who was exiled on Patmos, gives us a strange opening line: “I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet,” (Revelation 1:10, KJV).

Most people read this and assume John is simply telling us he had his vision on a Sunday. They believe “the Lord’s day” is the Sunday we observe today.

But here is the controversial question we must ask: Is it possible that John was not referring to the calendar day he was standing on, but the future prophetic time he was about to see—the great time of Christ’s return and judgment known as “The Day of the Lord?”

If we’ve misunderstood this one verse, we may have missed the whole point of Revelation’s opening message.

The Problem with the “Sunday” Idea

The New Testament writers had a clear way to talk about Sunday. They consistently called it “the first day of the week” (see Acts 20:7; 1 Corinthians 16:2).

Ask yourself this: If John meant Sunday, why would he suddenly use a different, mysterious phrase like “the Lord’s day” just this one time?

  • Fact Check (KJV): The Bible never calls Sunday “the Lord’s day” anywhere else.
  • Contradiction: But the KJV does tell us Christ is the Lord of the Sabbath (Saturday): “For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day,” (Matthew 12:8, KJV). If “the Lord’s day” means the day Christ is Lord over, why not the Sabbath? This shows the traditional “Sunday” explanation isn’t simple at all—it’s complicated.

The Prophetic Interpretation: Judgment Day

The best clue to understanding “the Lord’s day” comes from the purpose of the book itself. The entire Book of Revelation is about “things which must shortly come to pass” (Revelation 1:1, KJV). It is a prophecy about the end times, judgment, and the glorious return of Jesus Christ.

The Old and New Testaments use a very famous, similar-sounding phrase to describe this final time: “The Day of the Lord” (found in places like 1 Thessalonians 5:2 and 2 Peter 3:10).

Our Argument Simplified:

  • John was “in the Spirit,” meaning he was having a prophetic vision.
  • The entire vision is about The Day of the Lord (Judgment Day).
  • Therefore, it is much simpler and makes far more sense for John to be saying he was transported in a vision to see the Day of the Lord than it is to say he was simply noting that it was Sunday.

If John’s vision was about Judgment Day—and not Sunday—does that mean the church has been less watchful and less prepared for the coming tribulation?

Does equating “the Lord’s day” with a quiet weekly service accidentally make us forget the power and terror of Christ’s final, prophetic “Day of the Lord?”

Let the Discussion Begin: Was John “in the Spirit” on the first day of the week or was he in a vision of the final Day of the Lord? Explain your view and back it up with scripture.