2013_1030 Church in the home, Wednesday
evenings, Isaiah “the Lord’s day”
In the previous bulletin (2013_1023 Church in the home Wednesday evenings Isaiah 2:5-22, )
in Isaiah 2:12, we read …..” For there is a day for Yahweh of hosts against all
of the proud and the lofty and against all that is lifted up and humble”. It is
this “day for Yehweh” or the Lord’s day that is the subject of this bulletin.
Revelation 1: 10
states …..” I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day,
and I heard behind me a great sound like a trumpet.”
The expanded bible gives the following explanation
to this term, (see red insert below.)
Revelation 1:10
Expanded Bible (EXB)
10 On the Lord’s day [ probably a reference to the first
day of the week, Sunday, when Christians met for worship] I was in the ·Spirit [or spirit; a
state of deep spiritual communion with God], and I heard a loud voice behind me
that sounded like a trumpet [trumpet blasts often precede a divine
appearance or speech; Ex. 19:16, 19].
This is a strange comment as in all the other
usages of the term. The Lord’s day, it refers to a day of wrath, vengeance, and
judgment, in other words a particular time on the future, when God and Jesus
will rule and judge. Thus the Lord’s day in Revelation 1:10 is not referring to
a particular Sunday. Was not Jesus Lord of
all days, even the Sabbath?
Matthew 12:8
For the Son of man is Lord even of the Sabbath
day.
The term “The Lord’s Day”, occurs in most
translations only in Revelation 1:10.
The Expanded Bible does have 16 occurrences.
On the other hand the Kings James Version has
23 occurrences of the term “day of the Lord”.
“The Lord’s Day” in …
Expanded Bible:
Exodus 16:25
Moses told the people, “Eat ·the food you
gathered yesterday [L it today]. Today
is a Sabbath, ·the Lord’s day of rest [L …of
the Lord]; you will not find any out in the field today.
Exodus 16:24-26
·Cry [Wail], because the Lord’s day of judging
is near; the Almighty is sending destruction.
Isaiah 13:9
[ God’s Judgment Against Babylon ] ·Look [T Behold],
the Lord’s day of judging is coming— a ·terrible [cruel]
day, a day of ·God’s anger [L wrath and rage of
anger]. He will ·destroy [desolate] the ·land [or earth] and the sinners who
live in it.
Ezekiel 13:5
You have not gone up into the ·broken places
[breaches] or repaired the wall for the ·nation [L house
of] Israel [C Israel is portrayed as a house or fortress in
ruins]. So how can Israel ·hold back the enemy [stand firm] in the battle on
the ·Lord’s day of judging [L Day
of the Lord]?
Ezekiel 30:3
[L For] The day is
near; the ·Lord’s day of judging [L Day of the Lord]
is near. It is a ·cloudy day [day of clouds; C perhaps
storm clouds, or indicating the presence of God; Joel
2:2; Ex. 19:9] and a time ·when the nations will be judged [L for
the nations].
Joel 1:15
·What a terrible day it will be [L Ah, for the day]! The ·Lord’s day of judging
[L day of the Lord] is near [2:1, 11, 31; Is.
13:6, 9; Jer. 46:10], when ·punishment [destruction] will come like a
destroying attack from the Almighty [C “destroying”
(shod) and “Almighty” (shaddai) are related words
in Hebrew].
Joel 2:1
Blow the trumpet in ·Jerusalem [L Zion;
C the location of the Temple]; ·shout a warning
[sound the alarm; or raise the battle cry] on my holy mountain. Let all the people who live in the land shake with fear, because the ·Lord’s day of judging [L day
of the Lord; 1:15] is coming; it is near.
Joel 2:11
The Lord ·shouts out orders [cries out;
thunders] ·to [or at the head of] his army. His ·army [encampment] is very
large! Those who ·obey him [execute his word] are very strong! The ·Lord’s day of judging [L day
of the Lord; 1:15] is an ·overwhelming [awesome; great] and terrible day. ·No
one can stand up against it! [L Who
can endure it?]
Joel 3:14
·There are huge numbers of people [L Multitudes,
multitudes] in the Valley of Decision [C the
place of the Lord’s verdict against the nations; vv.
2, 12], because the ·Lord’s day of judging [L day
of the Lord; 1:15] is near in the Valley of Decision.
Amos 5:18
[ The Lord’s Day
of Judging ] ·How terrible it will be for [L Woe
to] you who want the ·Lord’s day of judging [L day
of the Lord] to come. Why do you want that day to come? It will bring darkness
for you, not light.
Amos 5:20
So the ·Lord’s day
of judging [L day of the Lord] will bring darkness, not
light; it will be ·very dark [deep gloom], not ·light at all [brightness].
Obadiah 1:15
[ The Nations Will Be Judged ] “The ·Lord’s day of judging [L day
of the Lord] is ·coming soon [near] to all the nations. ·The same evil things
you did to other people [L As you have done]
·will happen [L it will be done] to you; ·they [L recompense;
reprisal] will come back upon your own head.
Zephaniah 1:7
Be silent before the Lord God, because the ·Lord’s day for judging people [L day
of the Lord; Is. 13:6, 9; Jer. 46:10; Joel 2:1, 11, 31; Amos 5:18–20; Zech. 14:1] is ·coming soon [near]. The Lord has prepared a sacrifice; he
has ·made holy [consecrated] his invited guests.
Zephaniah 1:14
[ The Lord’s Day
of Judging ] “The ·Lord’s day of judging [great day of the Lord; 1:7] is
·coming soon [near]; it is near and coming fast. The cry will be ·very sad
[bitter] on the day of the Lord; ·even soldiers will cry [or soldiers will
shout a battle cry].
Zechariah 14:1
[ The Day of Punishment ] The ·Lord’s day of judging [L day
of the Lord; Zeph. 1:7] is coming when ·the wealth you have taken [your
plunder] will be divided ·among you [in your midst; or right in front of you; while you watch].
Revelation 1:10
On the Lord’s day
[C probably a reference to the first day of the week,
Sunday, when Christians met for worship] I was in the ·Spirit [or spirit; C a state of deep spiritual communion with God],
and I heard a loud voice behind me that sounded like a trumpet [C trumpet
blasts often precede a divine appearance or speech; Ex. 19:16, 19].
“day of the Lord” in …
Kings James Version:
Isaiah 2:12
For the day of the Lord of hosts shall be upon
every one that is proud and lofty, and upon every one that is lifted up; and he
shall be brought low:
Isaiah 13:6
Howl ye; for the day of the Lord is at hand; it
shall come as a destruction from the Almighty.
Isaiah 13:9
Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, cruel both
with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the
sinners thereof out of it.
Jeremiah 46:10
For this is the day of the Lord God of hosts, a
day of vengeance, that he may avenge him of his adversaries: and the sword
shall devour, and it shall be satiate and made drunk with their blood: for the
Lord God of hosts hath a sacrifice in the north country by the river Euphrates.
Ezekiel 13:5
Ye have not gone up into the gaps, neither made
up the hedge for the house of Israel to stand in the battle in the day of the
Lord.
Ezekiel 30:3
For the day is near, even the day of the Lord
is near, a cloudy day; it shall be the time of the heathen.
Joel 1:15
Alas for the day! for the day of the Lord is at
hand, and as a destruction from the Almighty shall it come.
Joel 2:1
Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm
in my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day
of the Lord cometh, for it is nigh at hand;
Joel 2:11
And the Lord shall utter his voice before his
army: for his camp is very great: for he is strong that executeth his word: for
the day of the Lord is great and very terrible; and who can abide it?
Joel 2:31
The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the
moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of the Lord come.
Joel 3:14
Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of
decision: for the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision.
Amos 5:18
Woe unto you that desire the day of the Lord!
to what end is it for you? the day of the Lord is darkness, and not light.
Amos 5:20
Shall not the day of the Lord be darkness, and
not light? even very dark, and no brightness in it?
Obadiah 1:15
For the day of the Lord is near upon all the
heathen: as thou hast done, it shall be done unto thee: thy reward shall return
upon thine own head.
Zephaniah 1:7
Hold thy peace at the presence of the Lord God:
for the day of the Lord is at hand: for the Lord hath prepared a sacrifice, he
hath bid his guests.
Zephaniah 1:14
The great day of the Lord is near, it is near,
and hasteth greatly, even the voice of the day of the Lord: the mighty man
shall cry there bitterly.
Zechariah 14:1
Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, and thy
spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee.
Malachi 4:5
Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet
before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord:
Acts 2:20
The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the
moon into blood, before the great and notable day of the Lord come:
1 Corinthians 5:5
To deliver such an one unto Satan for the
destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord
Jesus.
2 Corinthians 1:14
As also ye have acknowledged us in part, that
we are your rejoicing, even as ye also are our's in the day of the Lord Jesus.
1 Thessalonians 5:2
For yourselves know perfectly that the day of
the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.
2 Peter 3:10
But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in
the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the
elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are
therein shall be burned up.
Article from the web site “Church of the great
God”.
…. Mentions the 16 occs. of the term “yom Jehovah” used on it’s own.
Isaiah 13:6, 9;
Ezekiel 13:5;
Joel 1:15; 2:1, 11; 3:14; 4:14;
Amos 5:18 (twice), 20;
Obadiah 15;
Zephaniah 1:7, 14 (twice);
and
Malachi 4:5
Quotes from
Lexham English Bible (LEB)
Isaiah
13:6 Wail, for the day of Yahweh (1)
is near; it will come like destruction
from Shaddai!
Isaiah 13:9
Look! The day of Yahweh (2) is coming, cruel and wrath and the burning
of anger, to make the earth a desolation,
and he will destroy its sinners from it.
Ezekiel
13:5, You did not go up into the breaches and repair a wall for the house of
Israel to stand firm in the battle on the day of Yahweh.(3)
Joel 1:15,
Ah! For the day! For the day of Yahweh (4) is near. It will come like
destruction from Shaddai.
Joel 2:1,
Blow the trumpet in Zion, and sound the alarm on my holy mountain! Let all the
inhabitants of the land tremble, for the day of Yahweh (5) is coming —it is indeed near.
Joel 2:11,
And Yahweh utters his voice before his army, because his encampment is very
large; strong is the one who carries out
his decree, for great is the day of Yahweh (6) and exceedingly fearful.
Who can endure it?
Joel 3:14,
Commotion, commotion in the valley of decision! For the day of Yahweh (7) is near in the valley of decision!
Joel 4:14,
Commotion, commotion in the valley of decision! For the day of Yahweh (8) is near in the valley of decision!
Amos 5:18,
Alas, those who desire the day of Yahweh,(9) why is this for you the day
of Yahweh? (10) It will be darkness and not light! (twice in the one verse)
Amos 5:20,
Is not the day of Yahweh (11) darkness and not light, and pitch dark
with no brightness in it?
Obadiah 1:
15 “For the day of Yahweh (12) is near against all the nations! Just as
you have done, it will be done to you. Your deeds will return on your own head.
Zephaniah
1:7, Be silent before the Lord Yahweh, for the day of Yahweh (13) draws
near, for Yahweh has provided a sacrifice
and has consecrated his guests.
Zephaniah
1: 14, The great day of Yahweh (14) draws near; it is near and coming
very swiftly. The sound of the day of Yahweh (15) is bitterness; there,
a warrior cries out! (twice in the one verse again)
Malachi 4:5
Look! I am going to send to you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the
great and awesome day of Yahweh!(16)
“ A day for
or known to Jehovah”.
In four
other places where we have in the English Bible "the day of the
Lord," the Hebrew has the preposition lamed for or to, before the word
Jehovah. In Isaiah 2:12; Ezekiel 30:3; and Zechariah 14:1 it means "a day
for Jehovah"; and in Zechariah 14:7 it means "a day (known) to
Jehovah."
Isaiah 2:12, For there is a day for Yahweh
of hosts against all of the proud and the lofty and against all that is lifted
up and humble.
Ezekiel 30:3, For a day is near; indeed, a
day is near for Yahweh. A day of cloud, a time of the nations it will be.
Zechariah 14:1, Look! A day is coming for
Yahweh, when your plunder will be divided in your midst.
Zechariah 14:7, There shall be continuous day—it
is known to Yahweh—not day and not night; and at evening time there will be
light.
In other places where we have in English
"the day of the Lord," there is some other word between yom and
Jehovah in the Hebrew (such as "wrath" or "vengeance;"
i.e., the day of the wrath of the Lord)! and therefore these cannot be included
as examples of this expression, "the day of the Lord." (but here we
go anyway)
Isaiah 61:2
Lexham English Bible (LEB)
to proclaim the year of Yahweh’s favor, and our
God’s day of vengeance, to comfort all those in mourning
Parts of Isaiah were read by Jesus Christ and
it is recorded in Luke 4: 18 & 19
18 “The Spirit of the
Lord is upon me,
because of which he
has anointed me
to proclaim good news
to the poor.
He has sent me
to proclaim release to
the captives,
and recovery of sight
to the blind,
to send out in freedom
those who are oppressed,
19 to proclaim the
favorable year of the Lord.”
20 And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back
to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of everyone in the synagogue were
looking intently at him. 21 And he began to say to them,
“Today this scripture
has been fulfilled in your hearing.”
What Jesus
did not say was the next piece namely, “and our God’s day of vengeance”
In the New Testament the expression occurs four
times; viz., I Thessalonians 5:2; II Thessalonians 2:2 (according to all the
critical Greek texts and R.V., instead of "the day of Christ."); II
Peter 3:10, and Revelation 1:10.
I Thessalonians 5:2, for you yourselves well
know that the day of the Lord is coming in the same way as a thief in
the night.
II Thessalonians 2:2, that you not be easily
shaken from your composure, nor be troubled either by a spirit or by a message
or by a letter alleged to be from us[a], to the effect that the day of the
Lord has arrived.
II Peter 3:10,
But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the
heavens will disappear with a rushing noise, and the celestial bodies will be
destroyed by[a] being burned up, and the earth and the deeds done on it will be
disclosed.
Revelation 1:10, I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s
day, and I heard behind me a great sound like a trumpet
Full article from the web site “Church of the
great God”.
In this article the term “the Lord’s day”
isexplianed using several support sources incl. E.W. Bullinger’s famous 1907
Pamphlet piece (which is also in the Companion bible, and “How to enjoy the
bible”, and John Schoenheit of Spirit & Truth Fellowship, also quotes it in
session 4 of his “Revelation” series)
What is the "Lord's Day" of
Revelation 1:10?
The Bible leaves no record of the first-century
church worshipping or celebrating the resurrection on Sunday. Sometimes Revelation
1:10 — "I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great
voice" — is used as biblical authority for calling Sunday "the Lord's
Day." Notice, however, that this verse does not say the "first day of
the week" or "Sunday" is what John calls "the Lord's
day."
We must remember two vital facts about the book
of Revelation: First, it is a book of prophecy primarily concerning the time of
Christ's coming and the events that lead up to it (Revelation 1:1-3, 7).
Second, it is written by a Jew steeped in the language of the Old Testament. To
him, the phrase en teé kuriakeé heeméra ("on the Lord's day")—and its
Hebrew or Aramaic equivalent—would imply what is called in the Old Testament
"the Day of the Lord," the time of the coming destruction that
climaxes in the return of Christ (Isaiah 13:6, 9; Joel 1:15; 2:1, 11, 31; Amos
5:18; etc.).
In the introduction to E.W. Bullinger's
Commentary on Revelation, he explains definitively that the "Lord's
day" in Revelation 1:10 is not talking about the first day of the week:
In [Revelation 1:10] we are told that John saw
and received this revelation on "the Lord's Day." Leaving the former
part of this verse for the present, let us notice the latter expression,
"the Lord's Day." 4
The majority of people, being accustomed from
their infancy to hear the first day of the week called the Lord's Day, conclude
in their own minds that that day is thus called in [Revelation 1:10] because
that was the name of it. But the contrary is the fact: the day is so called by
us because of this verse.
In the New Testament this day is always called
"the first day of the week." (See Matthew 28:1; Mark 16:2 2, 9; Luke
24:1; John 20:1, 19; Acts 20:7; I Corinthians 16:2.). Is it not strange that in
this one place a different expression is thought to refer to the same day? And
yet, so sure are the commentators that it means Sunday, that some go as far as
to say it was "Easter Sunday," and it is for this reason that
Revelation 1:10-19 is chosen in the New Lectionary of the Church of England as
the 2nd Lesson for Easter Sunday morning.
There is no evidence of any kind that "the
first day of the week" was ever called "the Lord's Day" before
the Apocalypse was written. That it should be so called afterwards is easily
understood, and there can be little doubt that the practice arose from the
misinterpretation of these words in [Revelation 1:10]. It is incredible that
the earliest use of a term can have a meaning which only subsequent usage makes
intelligible.
On the contrary, it ceased to be called by its
Scripture name ("the First day of the week"), not because of any
advance of Biblical truth or reverence, but because of declension from it. The
Greek "Fathers" of the Church were converts from Paganism: and it is
not yet sufficiently recognized how much of Pagan rites and ceremonies and
expressions they introduced into the Church; and how far Christian ritual was
elaborated from and based upon Pagan ritual by the Church of Rome. Especially
is this seen in the case of baptism.5
It was these Fathers who, on their conversion,
brought the title "Sunday" into the Church from the Pagan terminology
which they had been accustomed to use in connection with their Sun-worship.
Justin Martyr (114-165 A.D.) in his second
Apology (i.e., his second defense of Christianity), says, 6 in chap. 67. on
"The weekly worship of the Christians," - "On the day called
SUN-DAY all who live in the country gather together to one place... SUN-DAY is
the day on which we all hold our common assembly, because it is the first day
on which God, having wrought a change in the darkness and matter, made the
world; and Jesus Christ our Savior on the same day rose from the dead. For He
was crucified on the day before that of SATURN [i.e., Saturn's day]; and on the
day after that of Saturn, which is the day of the SUN, having appeared to his
apostles and disciples, He taught them these things, which we have submitted to
you also for your consideration."
It is passing strange that if John called the
first day of the week "the Lord's Day," we find no trace of the use
of such a title until a hundred years later. And that though we do find a
change, it is to "Sunday," and not the "the Lord's Day" - a
name which has become practically universal.7
Some Christians still perpetuate the name of
the Lord's Day for Sunday: but it is really the survival of a Pagan name, with
a new meaning, derived from a misunderstanding of [Revelation 1:10].
Objection has been taken to the interpretation
of "the Lord's Day" here, because we have (in [1:10]) the adjective
"Lord's" instead of the noun (in regimen), "of the Lord,"
as in the Hebrew. But what else could it be called in Hebrew? Such objectors do
not seem to be aware of the fact that there is no adjective for "Lord's"
in Hebrew; and therefore the only way of expressing "the Lord's Day"
is by using the two nouns, "the day of the Lord" - which means
equally "the Lord's Day" (Jehovah's day). It is useless, therefore,
to make any objection on this ground; for if a Hebrew wanted to say "the
Lord's Day," he must say "the day of the Lord."
In the Greek there are two ways of expressing
this (as in modern languages); either by saying literally, as in Hebrew,
"the day of the Lord" (using the two nouns); or by using the
adjective "Lord's" instead. It comes to exactly the same thing as to
signification; the difference lies only in the emphasis.
The natural way of qualifying a noun is by
using an adjective, as here – (kyriakee) Lord's; and, when this is done, the
emphasis takes its natural course, and is placed on the noun thus qualified
("day"). But when the emphasis is required to be placed on the word
"Lord;" then, instead of the adjective, the noun would be used in the
genitive case, "of the Lord." In the former case (as in [Revelation
1:10]), it would be "the Lord's DAY." In the latter case it would be
"THE LORD'S day." The same day is meant in each case, but with a
different emphasis.
By way of illustration and proof, we may call
attention to the fact that we have the corresponding expressions concerning
another "day." In Luke 17:22 we have "the days of the Son of
Man," where the emphasis must be on "THE SON OF MAN" (as shown
by the context). While in I Corinthians 4:3 we have "man's DAY," with
the emphasis on "day," marking that "day" as being actually
present, as it now is. This is so clear from the context that it is actually
translated "judgment," which is exactly what it means. The apostle
says - "It is a very small thing, that I should be judged of you, or of
man's DAY." The emphasis is on day, because the time in which we now live
is the time, or "day," when man is judging. Another day is coming,
and that is the day when the Lord will be present, and He will be the judge.
This is the reason why the adjective (anthropinee) man's is used in I Corinthians
4:3; and this is why (kyriakee), Lord's is used in Revelation 1:9. So far from
the use of the adjective being an argument against our conclusion, it is an
argument in favor of it. For what is the "DAY of the Lord" or
"the LORD'S day"? The first occurrence of the expression (which is
the key to its meaning) is in Isaiah 2:11.8 It is the day when "the lofty
looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down,
and the Lord alone shall be exalted.
That is the one great object of all the future
events, seen by John in vision, and recorded for us in the Apocalypse.
One other fact has to be stated, and that is
the reason why the first day of the week came to be called "Sunday."
It was called by the Pagan "Dominus Sol," the Lord Sun. Hence the
Latin name "Dies Dominica," used by the early Christian Fathers for
the Sunday, and the speedy transition of its name from "the Lord Sun"
to "the Lord's Day," and then "Sunday." Bingham (Ant. 10.,
sec. 5) mentions the fact that it was the custom in the Primitive Church to
replace heathen days and festivals by those which were Christian. We see one
result of this in our Yule-tide and Christmas. Bingham (Ant. 10., sec. 2) also
mentions the fact that the early Christians were charged with being worshippers
of the sun. Tertullian also admits that Christians were only looked upon by
some as a sect of sun worshippers:9 while some account for this on other
grounds: (e.g. the sects of the Gnostics and Basilideans having retained or
introduced solar forms of worship). Yet these facts are better and more fully
accounted for by the adoption of the name "the Lord's Day" for the
Sunday; while it serves to throw light on the transition from the original name
of "the first day of the week."
From all this evidence we feel justified in
believing that the Apocalypse consists of a series of visions, which set forth
the events connected with "the Revelation of Jesus Christ," which
will take place during "the Lord's DAY;" that day being so called because
it is viewed as being then present; and as it had been called heretofore in
prophecy, "the day of the Lord."
Endnotes:
4 For further information on this subject see a
separate pamphlet on The Lord's Day, by the same author and publisher, 1907.
5 See The Buddha of Christendom, by Dr. Robert
Anderson, C.B. Hodder and Stoughton, page 68 and chap. ix.
6 T. and T. Clark's edition, pages 65, 66.
7 The French, Spanish, and Italian nations have
retained the Roman Pagan names. The English is tainted with Scandinavian
mythology. The 1st day they call Dies Dominica, the Lord's Day (i.e., the day
of the lord, the sun). All the Oriental nations called the sun
"lord." The Persians called their god Mithra (the sun), i.e., the
lord Mithra. The Syrians called it Adonis, which is from the Hebrew Adonai,
lord. The Hebrews called it Baal (which means lord) and Moloch. Porphyry, in a
prayer to the sun, calls him "Dominus Sol." The Romans kept the Pagan
name, Dies Dominica (the day of the lord sun), for the first day of the week;
but called the others by the names of the moon and planets to which they were
dedicated. Thus we have Dies Lunae (day of the moon), Dies Martis (day of
Mars), Dies Mercurii (day of Mercury), Dies Jovis (day of Jupiter), Dies
Veneris (day of Venus), Dies Saturnii (day of Saturn).
8 It should be noted that the expression (yom
Jehovah, the day of the Lord) occurs (in the Hebrew Bible) sixteen times, viz.,
Isaiah 13:6, 9; Ezekiel 8:5; Joel 1:15; 2:1, 11; 3:14; 4:14; Amos 5:18 (twice),
20; Obadiah 15; Zephaniah 1:7, 14 (twice); and Malachi 4:5 (Hebrews 3:23).
In four other places where we have in the
English Bible "the day of the Lord," the Hebrew has the preposition
lamed for or to, before the word Jehovah. In Isaiah 2:12; Ezekiel 30:3; and
Zechariah 14:1 it means "a day for Jehovah"; and in Zechariah 14:7 it
means "a day (known) to Jehovah."
In other places where we have in English
"the day of the Lord," there is some other word between yom and
Jehovah in the Hebrew (such as "wrath" or "vengeance;"
i.e., the day of the wrath of the Lord)! and therefore these cannot be included
as examples of this expression, "the day of the Lord."
In the New Testament the expression occurs four
times; viz., I Thessalonians 5:2; II Thessalonians 2:2 (according to all the
critical Greek texts and R.V., instead of "the day of Christ."); II
Peter 3:10, and Revelation 1:10.
It is remarkable that all these occurrences are
stamped with the number four, which marks that day has having special relation
to the earth. In the New Testament four times. In the Old Testament, with the
preposition, four times; and simply yom Jehovah 16 times (i.e. the square of
four). This is merely a note in passing, but it is most significant.
9 Tertullian Ad Nationes, Bk. i. chap. xiii.,
and Apologeticus, C. 16. (Latter half).
If one wants to insist upon this text applying
to a definite day of the week, he must look elsewhere to see which day the
Bible calls the Lord's Day. Jesus says in Mark 2:28 that He is Lord of the
Sabbath, and thus, as Master of that day, it belongs to Him. The only day that
belongs to Him is the Sabbath, the seventh day of the week. Isaiah 58:13 calls
the Sabbath "My [the Lord's!] holy day." The other six days are ours
to do our work and pleasures.
Finally, in the original commandment in Exodus
20:10, the Lord says, "The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your
God." Therefore, if John saw this vision on any day of the week—if it
indeed occurred on "the Lord's day"—it was the seventh-day Sabbath!
