Is Sunday Really the Lord’s Day?

Revelation 1:10 On the Lord’s day I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet.

The majority of churches today that keep Sunday worship explain that they are worshipping on the Lord’s day, quoting Revelation 1:10. However, is this truly the Lord’s day, and where in the Bible does it teach that Sunday is the worship day given to us by God? When we study the scripture, we learn that the day God designated as the worship day was the Sabbath, not Sunday. Then, let’s prove this through the Bible.

What Day of the Week Is the Lord’s Day?

To determine what day is the Lord’s day, we should know to whom this day belongs. According to the verse in Revelation, it is the Lord’s Day. Then who is the Lord? It is Jesus Christ; therefore, which day does Jesus Christ say he is Lord over?

Matthew 12:8 For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.

Jesus declared himself to be Lord over the Sabbath, the Lord’s day that we should be revering is the Sabbath day and not Sunday. Furthermore, through Jesus Christ’s resurrection, we can confirm that the Sabbath and Sunday are not the same.

Mark 16:9 When Jesus rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had driven seven demons.

Jesus Christ rose early on the first day of the week; most Christians know this day to be Sunday. When we read earlier verses in the same chapter, we see that the day before Jesus rose was the Sabbath.

Mark 16:1-2 When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus’ body. Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb.

Mary Magdalene and Mary the Mother of James went to Jesus’ tomb to anoint his body after the Sabbath, early on the first day of the week (Sunday). On that same day, Sunday, Jesus Christ rose. What day of the week is the Sabbath day? Naturally, the day before Sunday is Saturday, thus the Sabbath day is on Saturday.

To truly keep the Lord’s day and worship God, we must keep the Sabbath on Saturday. Sunday worship is not the day God appointed. As Christians, we need to understand the difference so we can discern what is of God and what is not.

Do Not Add to or Subtract From the Words of God

If a tourist were travelling to Cape Town for the first time and they wanted to get to Table Mountain, they would need the correct directions, or they would get lost in this unfamiliar area and never reach their intended destination. Similarly, the words of God written in the Bible are given to us as our roadmap to the kingdom of heaven, which is why it is so important to follow the Bible’s teachings absolutely.

Revelation 22:18-19 I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this scroll: if anyone adds anything to them, God will add to that person the plagues described in this scroll. And if anyone takes words away from this scroll of prophecy, God will take away from that person any share in the tree of life and in the Holy City, which are described in this scroll.

Every teaching and command of God written in the Bible was intended to lead us to salvation. Thus, we should never add or subtract from the words of God, because once we change the words of the Bible, they are no longer the words of God that lead us to salvation. Amongst all these commands, for now, we will focus on the Sabbath day. Once you remove the Sabbath and add Sunday, this is no longer God’s law. The Bible clearly teaches the observance of the Sabbath; an example can be found in the Ten Commandments.

Exodus 20:8-11 Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. For six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore, the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

The Fourth Commandment from the Ten Commandments is to ‘Remember the Sabbath day.’ This is a teaching of God that cannot be removed from the Bible. This is why God commands his people to keep the Sabbath day.

Exodus 31:12-13 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘You must observe my Sabbaths.'” This will be a sign between me and you for the generations to come, so you may know that I am the Lord, who makes you holy.

When speaking to Moses, God declared that the Sabbath belongs to Him, and as His people, we are to observe this day. What happens if we refuse to keep the Sabbath on Saturday and continue to keep Sunday worship?

Matthew 7:21-23 Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!”

It is written, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven.” What does this mean? It means that not all believers, or rather not all Christians, will enter the kingdom of heaven. Why are they not able to enter heaven? Jesus Christ taught that only those who do the will of God can enter. God’s law is His will; the Sabbath day is the law of God, which contains His will of salvation for His people. The Sabbath day is God’s absolute law that we need to keep in this age. The Sunday worship was never a teaching of God or set as the Lord’s day, but simply a man-made rule that does not lead to salvation. If we truly want to worship God on the day He designated for us to keep, then, we must keep the Sabbath day on Saturday and receive God’s promised blessing of salvation on that day.