Comparison with a trumpet indicates the intensity of the voice.

 Gr. kuriakē hēmera. Various attempts have been made to explain this expression, which appears only here in Scripture. Some interpreters equate this term with “the day of the Lord” of the OT prophets (see Joel 2:11, 31; Zeph. 1:14; Mal. 4:5; cf. Acts 2:20). It may be granted that, taken by themselves, the words might be so interpreted. Those who thus explain the expression point to the fact that the Revelation focuses attention on the great final day of the Lord and events leading up to it (see on Rev. 1:1). To be “in the Spirit on the Lord’s day” could possibly be understood as meaning to be carried in vision down the stream of time to witness events connected with the day of the Lord.

 There are, however, reasons for rejecting this interpretation. In the first place, when the phrase “day of the Lord” clearly designates the great day of God the Greek is always hēmera tou kuriou or hēmera kuriou (1 Cor. 5:5; 2 Cor. 1:14; 1 Thess. 5:2; 2 Peter 3:10). Second, the context (Rev. 1:9, 10) implies that the term “Lord’s day” refers to the time when John saw the vision, rather than the subject of the vision. Thus, John gives his location, “the isle that is called Patmos” (v. 9); his reason for being there, “for the word of God” (v. 9); and his condition in vision, “in the Spirit.” These phrases all have to do with the circumstances under which the vision was given, and it is logical to conclude that the fourth does also, giving the specific time of the revelation. Most expositors so conclude.

Although unique in Scripture, the term kuriakē hēmera has a long history in post-Biblical Greek. Like its abbreviated form, kuriakē, it is a familiar term in the Church Fathers for the first day of the week, and in modern Greek kuriakē is the usual term for Sunday. Its Latin equivalent, dominica dies, is a common designation for the same day, and has passed into several modern languages, such as Spanish, domingo, and French, dimanche, both terms for Sunday. For this reason many scholars hold the opinion that kuriakē hēmera in the present passage also refers to Sunday, and that John not only received his vision on that day but also recognized it as “the Lord’s day,” presumably because on that day Christ had risen from the dead.

There are both negative and positive reasons for rejecting this interpretation. First is the recognized principle of historical method, that an allusion is to be interpreted only in terms of evidence that is previous to it in point of time or contemporary with it, and not by historical data from a later period. This principle has an important bearing on the problem of the meaning of the expression “Lord’s day” as it appears in the present passage. Although this term occurs frequently in the Church Fathers with the meaning of Sunday, the first conclusive evidence of such use does not appear until the latter part of the 2d century in the Apocryphal Gospel According to Peter (9, 12; ANF, vol. 9, p. 8), where the day of Christ’s resurrection is termed the “Lord’s day.” Since this document was written at least three quarters of a century after John wrote the Revelation, it cannot be presented as a proof that the phrase “Lord’s day” in John’s time refers to Sunday. Numerous examples might be cited to show the rapidity with which words can change their meanings. Therefore the meaning of “Lord’s day” here is better determined by reference to Scripture rather than to subsequent literature.

 On the positive side of the question is the fact that although the Scripture nowhere identifies Sunday as having any religious connection with the Lord, repeatedly it recognizes that the seventh day, the Sabbath, is the Lord’s special day. God is said to have blessed and sanctified the seventh day (see Gen. 2:3); He declared it to be the memorial of His act of creation (see Ex. 20:11); He called it specifically “my holy day” (see Isa. 58:13); and Jesus declared Himself to be “Lord also of the sabbath” (see Mark 2:28) in the sense that as Lord of men, He was also Lord over that which was made for man, the Sabbath. Thus, when the phrase “Lord’s day” is interpreted in accordance with evidence prior to and contemporary with John’s time, it appears that there is only one day to which it can refer, and that is the seventh-day Sabbath. See 6T 128; AA 581.

Archeological discoveries have thrown added light on the expression kuriakē hēmera. Papyri and inscriptions from the imperial period in Roman history found in Egypt and Asia Minor employ the word kuriakos (the masculine form of kuriakē) to the imperial treasury and the imperial service. This is understandable inasmuch as the Roman emperor was often called in Greek the kurios, “lord,” and consequently his treasury and service were the “lord’s treasury” and the “lord’s service.” Thus kuriakos was a familiar word in Roman official language for things pertaining to the emperor. One such inscription comes from as early as A.D. 68, so it is clear that this usage of kuriakos was current in John’s time (see Adolf Deissmann, Light From the Ancient East, pp. 357-361).

On this same inscription there appears a reference to a day named for the Empress Julia, or Livia, as she is better known.

 On other inscriptions both from Egypt and Asia Minor, the term sebastē, the Greek equivalent of Augustus, frequently appears as the name of a day. Apparently these are references to special days honoring the emperor (see Deissmann, loc. cit.). Some have suggested that kuriakē hēmera, as used by John, also refers to an imperial day. This seems doubtful, however, for two reasons. First, although there were imperial days, and although the term keriakos was used for other things pertaining to the emperor, no instance of the word kuriakē as applied to an imperial day has yet been found. This is not a final proof, of course, for it is an argument from silence. However, the second point that may be raised against the identification of John’s kuriakē hēmera as an imperial day appears to be virtually conclusive. This is the fact that both the Jews in the 1st century (see Josephus War vii. 10. 1 [418, 419]) and the Christians, at least in the 2d (see Martyrdom of Polycarp 8), are known to have refused to call Caesar kurios, “lord.” It becomes extremely difficult to think, therefore, that John would have referred to an imperial day as the “Lord’s day,” especially at a time when he and his fellow Christians were being bitterly persecuted for refusing to worship the emperor (see pp. 721-723). It seems more likely that John chose the expression kuriakē hēmera for the Sabbath as a subtle means of proclaiming the fact that, as the emperor had special days devoted to his honor, so John’s Lord, for whose sake he now suffered, also had His day. For a discussion of the origin of Sunday observance and of the designation of Sunday as “the Lord’s day” see on Dan. 7:25. See AA 581, 582.

Literally, “in spirit,” here meaning “in an ecstatic state.” He became oblivious to the things of earth and aware only of the impressions conveyed to him by the Holy Spirit. Natural sense perception gave way completely to spiritual perception.