When is the Lord’s Day?

Jehovah’s Witnesses believe the Lord’s day began 100 years ago this month, evidenced by the First World War. But a careful consideration of related Bible terms reveals otherwise. 

 

The expression “the Lord’s day” only appears one place in the Bible — at Revelation 1:10, where John wrote: “By inspiration I came to be in the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a strong voice like that of a trumpet.”

That expression is especially appropriate at the beginning of the book of Revelation because the things that the entranced apostle saw in vision are the things that must occur during the Lord’s day.

The judgments contained within Revelation begin when the symbolic scroll — sealed with seven seals — is unsealed, one seal at a time. Then the seven trumpets are sounded and the seven bowls containing the seven plagues of God’s anger are poured out —the seventh plague being poured out upon the nations gathered to the place called Armageddon. These are the things that must take place during the Lord’s day. 

Jehovah’s Witnesses believe the Lord’s day began in 1914. In fact, those unacquainted with the teachings of the organization might be astonished to learn that the Watchtower teaches that virtually everything, including the unsealing of the scroll, the angelic trumpet blasts and the pouring out of the bowls of God’s anger, have already occurred— all except the emptying of the last bowl. 

If Jehovah’s Witnesses are correct, this might naturally lead reasoning persons to conclude that the judgments contained in Revelation do not amount to much.

But the question Jehovah’s Witnesses, themselves, ought to ponder is whether the Lord’s day actually began in 1914. Is there any way to definitively determine if it has?

Actually, although the expression “the Lord’s day” only appears in one place in the Bible there are several synonymous expressions in the Christian Greek letters, listed below.

“He will also make you firm to the end so that you may be open to no accusation in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.” — 1 Corinthians 1:8

“When you are gathered together in the name of our Lord Jesus, and knowing that I am with you in spirit along with the power of our Lord Jesus, you must hand such a man over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord.” — 1 Corinthians 5:5

“For we are really not writing you about anything except what you can read and understand, and I hope you will continue to understand these things fully, just as you have also understood to an extent that we are a cause for you to boast, just as you will also be for us in the day of our Lord Jesus.” — 2 Corinthians 1:13-14

“For I am confident of this very thing, that he who started a good work in you will carry it to completion until the day of Jesus Christ.” — Philippians 1:6

“…that you may make sure of the more important things, so that you may be flawless and not stumbling others up to the day of Christ…” — Philippians 1:10

No one ought to be so unreasonable so as to suggest that the “day of the Lord”, or “the day of Jesus Christ” is a different day than “the Lord’s day” of Revelation. No one would suggest that “the day of Jehovah” is not the same thing as “Jehovah’s day.”

Also, it should be evident to any unbiased person that the various renderings of the day of our Lord (cited above) refer to the end of the Christian era. For example, at 1 Corinthians 1:8 Paul connects the day of our Lord to “the end.” Likewise, 1 Corinthians 5:5 equates the day of the Lord with salvation of those Christians living then. Similarly, at Philippians 1:6 the apostle indicates that the day of Jesus brings the work of disciple-making to a completion. 

Since the Christian era has obviously not concluded yet, what Scriptural basis is there for Jehovah’s Witnesses to believe the Lord’s day has already begun? 

Jehovah’s Witnesses will likely resort to explaining how the seven times ended in 1914 and so that is how they know the Lord’s day began then. But if the Lord’s day began in 1914 that means the day of Jesus Christ has arrived too, they being one and the same. Since it is beyond dispute that the day of our Lord has not begun why does the Watchtower continue to teach that the Lord’s day has? Clearly, it is a case of “double-faced divination” and the use of a “tricky tongue,” or pen, as the case may be, all for the purpose of promoting the delusion that the day of the Lord has already arrived.