LORD'S DAY by Dudley Marvin Canright

International Tract and Missionary Society · Oakland, California · May 20, 1889

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 15, No. 19.

"LORD'S DAY."

By Dudley Marvin Canright

WHAT is the meaning of this term? It is applied by Christians generally to the first day of the week, or Sunday; but have they the right, we mean scriptural right, to do this? What says the Bible? We find the term used but once in the whole word of God. This is in the following text: "I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day." Rev. 1:10. But the context does not tell us what day this was. Neither does the apostle give us any light in his gospel narrative, which was written one or two years subsequent to the Revelation, though he does mention the first day of the week. See John 20:1, 19. No other Bible writer uses the term Lord's day. In the absence of all Bible evidence, is it not the height of assumption to apply the term to the first day of the week? "But," says one, "has not the Lord one day that he calls his?" We reply, Certainly; Ex. 20:10 states, "the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God;" Isa. 58:13 calls the Sabbath, or seventh day of the week, "his [or God's] holy day;" our Saviour says, "The Son of man is Lord also of the Sabbath." Mark 2:28. Now, candidly, dear reader, are we not forced to the conclusion that the seventh-day Sabbath is at once both "the Sabbath of the Lord thy God" and "the Lord's day"? M. C. W.