Day of the Lord

 Revelation 1:10: “I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day.”

             The term “the Lord’s Day” does not necessarily mean the Sabbath.  “The Lord’s Day” is equivalent to “the Day of the Lord.”  The “Day of the Lord” was a time that had been appointed from many centuries before.  Several of the prophets had foretold it, both in the Old and New Testament.[1]

            What John saw and experienced was the events of “the Day of the Lord,” as foretold by the prophets.  We may understand that it was literally “The Day of the Lord” and that he saw what was happening in Jerusalem at that particular time “in the Spirit,” although he was physically in the isle of Patmos.  Or, we may understand that he was “in the Spirit” and saw the events of “The Lord’s Day” as something about to happen immediately.[2]  The latter case seems to fit the writing more precisely.  He wrote as one who is recording something seen while in an altered state of consciousness, such as a dream, but in his case, a vision.  He is saying: “In my vision, (while in the Spirit), it was the Day of the Lord.”

            It is possible that John saw, through this spiritual vision, the events that were taking place in Judea and Jerusalem at the time of, or very near the time of, their occurrence.  The precedent for this experience is found in Ezekiel.  As Ezekiel was with the captives in Babylon the Word of the Lord came to him and he saw and told the people that Jerusalem was being destroyed, (chapter 24).  He was stricken dumb and remained so until a fugitive from Jerusalem arrived, about three years later, to report the news of the fall of the city, (Ezek. 24:27; 33:21-2).  John, too, although a captive on the isle of Patmos, may have seen the destruction through the Spirit.  There is an immediacy to his message that suggests an eyewitness account, as in Ezekiel.

            Like Ezekiel, too, there is a great personal, emotional involvement with the events witnessed.  There is probably no more traumatic experience than seeing the institutions, ceremonies and sacraments that represent the outward expression of one’s faith fall into perversion and disgrace.  Ezekiel suffered this trauma in his personal life as a symbol for the people.  As a sign of the death of God’s beloved wife, Israel, Ezekiel’s wife died.  She had been “the delight of his eyes,” but God commanded him not to grieve openly, for it was, as the symbol of Israel, the certain result of sin.

            Like Ezekiel‘s, John‘s message was not directed to the literal Jerusalem, for it was too late for her to repent.  John’s message of warning as well as of hope was to the faithful remnant, the universal Church.  They were not to boast in themselves, for even though they were the golden lampstands in the very presence of Christ in the heavens, (Revelation 1:20), they too could fall and their light be removed, as was happening to the literal Jerusalem.  In context, the message to the Churches has the force of pointing to what happened to the literal Jerusalem as an example of what will happen to them also if they fail to repent.  The natural Israel, the wife of God, the delight of His eyes, had fallen into an adulterous relationship with the fleshly (beastly) nations and was suffering the consequences of her sins.

            A referent for the phrase “in the Spirit” is found in John 16:13:

Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, [that] shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.

             Jesus had foretold that the Spirit would lead into “all truth” which is equivalent to “revelation.”  So here is John‘s guide, his Paraclete, ‘one who walks alongside,’ his melits, an interpreter.  Jesus had also said that the Spirit would speak, (i.e. interpret) what He heard, as one who hears one language and interprets into another language.  Throughout the book of Revelation we see the Spirit interpreting the symbols and walking alongside John.

            In the passage John 16:7-15 Jesus had foretold that the Spirit would reprove the world, that is, convince or convict, of sin and also of righteousness, i.e. what is right, and of God’s judgment.  He would convince them through the revelation and glorification of Christ: failure to believe on Him is the essence of sin, and God’s righteous judgment is upon sin.  It is this work of the Spirit that we see in the book of Revelation.

            John 16:14-15 says the Spirit was to “receive of mine” and “all things are mine“, therefore, “he shall take of mine and shall show it unto you.”  In the book of Revelation we see the Spirit taking the things, the words, attributes and deeds of Christ and showing them.  Each of the messages to the seven churches closes with the admonition to “hear” what the Spirit, the interpreter, is saying to them.

            In Revelation 1:10 and 4:2 it is expressly stated that John was “in the Spirit“.  In 17:3 the Spirit carries him away to show him the harlot Babylon.  In 21:10 he shows him the New Jerusalem the Bride of the Lamb.  The Spirit guides and interprets throughout the book, (14:13 and 20:17).

            Some of the referents for the term “the Lord’s Day“, or “Day of the Lord,” are to be found in the Old Testament Psalms which celebrate the pageantry and feasts of the enthronement of the King.  Jesus announced that it was “the acceptable year of the Lord,” that is, the year of jubilee.  In the oriental cultures the enthronement of the king was re-enacted each new year celebration.  There was a recitation of the mighty deeds of the king according to the days of the year past, which is the “his-story” of the year.  In this sense, the chronicles of the days verified the accuracy of the calendar and served as a verification of the heavens’ “amen.”

            The great Day of the Lord was the day when the books were opened and recompense for deeds was meted out.  It was a day of rewards for the faithful but a day of vengeance and wrath for the enemies of the King.  Jesus had foretold that the day of His coming would be joyous for believers, but a day of vengeance for His enemies, Luke 21:22.  Isaiah had also foretold that the day of the Lord would be a comfort to the righteous but a day of vengeance for the wicked, Isaiah 13:9; 34:8; 61:2; 63:4.

            Jeremiah had prophesied of the day of wrath and vengeance, Jeremiah 46:10; 50:15, 28.  Zephaniah had also seen the Great Day, Zephaniah 1:14-16.  Paul had fully understood the nature of the Great Day as foretold by the prophets: (Rom. 2:5-10).