Did the “Lord’s Day” Begin in 1914?

 Part One

“We need to examine, not only what we personally believe, but also what is taught by any religious organization with which we may be associated. Are its teachings in full harmony with God’s Word, or are they based on the traditions of men? If we are lovers of the truth, there is nothing to fear from such an examination” (The Truth that Leads to Eternal Life, Brooklyn: The Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania, 1968, p. 13). The apostle John would have said a hardy “amen” to the above statement from the Jehovah’s Witnesses. He wrote, “beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world” (1 John 4:10).

Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that Jesus Christ returned in 1914, that was the year marked by the First World War and has direct connection with the prophecy in Revelation (Rev 12:7). The prophecy is about the war in heaven and the ouster of the Devil from heaven. The Lord’s Day is not a single day consisting of twenty-four hours, but a period of time that started in 1914 which will last for sometime that includes Christ’s Thousand year reign.

The Witnesses use as their main proof text: Revelation 1:10. The New King James version has the apostle John saying, “I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day, and I heard behind me a loud voice, as of a trumpet.” Note the difference in the New World Translation used by the Jehovah Witnesses: “by inspiration I came to be in the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a strong voice like that of a trumpet.” “In the first instance the inspiration causes him to see things in the future starting from the day he received the inspiration. In second instance causes John by inspiration to be transported to a SPECIFIC time period in the future (i.e., the ‘Lord’s day) meaning: “while John was inspired, he came to be transported to the ‘Last Days.’”

The Greek manuscript for Revelation reads: egenomen en pneumati en te kyriake hemera kai ekousa opiso mou phonen megalen hos salpingos The Greek is the same in the manuscripts used by the New King James and that of the New World Translation. However, the latter moves the verb to before “the Lord’s day” which produces an entirely different meaning. The verb “came to be” occurs before “in spirit” (egenomen en pnuemati, literally “I became in spirit”). Yet notice how they translate Revelation 4:2: “… I immediately came to be in the power of the spirit,…” (NWT). The Greek text reads (in part), eutheos egenomen en pnuemati or “immediately I became in spirit.”

Notice many other translations agree with the rendering in the New King James:

▸ On the Lord’s Day I was in the Spirit,… New International Version
▸ It was the Lord’s Day, and I was worshiping in the Spirit…. New Living Translation
▸ I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day,… English Standard Version
▸ On the Lord’s day I was in the Spirit,… Berean Study Bible
▸ I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day,… Berean Literal Bible
▸ On the Lord’s day the Spirit took control of me,… Contemporary English Version
▸ I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day,… New American Standard Bible
▸ I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day,… King James Bible
▸ I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day,… Holman Christian Standard Bible
▸ I came to be in the Spirit on the Day of the Lord,… International Standard Version
▸ I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day when I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet, NET Bible
▸ And I was in The Spirit on the first day of the week,.. Aramaic Bible in Plain English
▸ I came under the Spirit’s power on the Lord’s day … . GOD’S WORD® Translation
▸ I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day,… New American Standard 1977
▸ I was in the Spirit in the day of the Lord … Jubilee Bible 2000
▸ I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day,… King James 2000 Bible
▸ I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day,… American King James Version
▸ I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day,… American Standard Version
▸ I was in the spirit on the Lord’s day,.. Douay-Rheims Bible
▸ I became in [the] Spirit on the Lord’s day,… Darby Bible Translation
▸ I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day,… English Revised Version
▸ I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day,… Webster’s Bible Translation
▸ In the Spirit I found myself present on the day of the Lord,… Weymouth New Testament
▸ I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day,… World English Bible
▸ I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s-day,… Young’s Literal Translation

In many of the articles by the Jehovah’s Witness on the phrase “Lord’s Day,” it is abundantly clear that they confuse it with the phrase “Day of the Lord.” While “Lord’s Day” can only be found in Revelation 1:10. The “Day of the Lord” and it’s equivalent are found in many other places: “the day of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 1:8); “in the day of the Lord” (1 Corinthians 5:5); “in the day of our Lord Jesus” (2 Corinthians 1:13-14); “day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6); and “the day of Christ…” (Philippians 1:10). In each of these the day in question is the final day of Judgment or the Second Coming of the Lord. This seems clear by the context. Furthermore, the Greek phrases are not equivalent and the “Lord’s Day” cannot be translated “the Day of the Lord.” Therefore, the Greek speaking Christians of the first century would have never came to the conclusion that the “Lord’s Day” was the same as “The Day of the Lord.” They would have had no reason to believe John was talking about the Second Coming of the Lord or Judgment Day.

If the Lord’s Day is not the Second Coming, then what day is it? It is believed to be Sunday, the first day of the week. “Lord’s day (te kyriake hemera) is an early Christian expression for Sunday” (The Bible Knowledge Background Commentary – John, Heb. – Rev. (Craig A. Evans, p. 353). Chrysostom (on Ps. 119) says, “It was called the Lord’s day because the Lord rose from the dead on that day.” It is interesting to note that in Greece the first day of the week is called hemera kyriake (the Lord’s day).

The Jehovah’s Witnesses say that John was transported in spirit to the year 1914 when the Lord returned. “Therefore, Christ Jesus began his heavenly rule in the latter part of 1914. The erupting of the first world war…Since 1914, how remarkably events in this bloodstained earth have confirmed that year to be the start of the “day” of Jesus’ presence!…the Lord’s Day…continues till the end of Jesus Christ’s Millennial Rule.” (Revelation, It’s Grand Climax at Hand!, p. 24). The Jehovah’s Witnesses have not always believed the Lord returned in 1914. At first they concluded He was to come in 1874. How did they arrive at this date? The use the measurements of an Egyptian pyramid. “Then measuring down the ‘Entrance Passage’ from that point, to find the distance to the entrance of the ‘Pit,’ representing the great trouble and destruction with which this age is to close, when evil will be overthrown from power, we find it to be 3416 inches, symbolizing 3416 years from the above date, B.C. 1542. This calculation shows A.D. 1874 as marking the beginning of the period of trouble; for 1542 years B.C. plus 1874 was the chronological beginning of the time of trouble such as was not since there was a nation – no, nor ever shall be afterward” (Studies in the Scriptures; cited in Ruth A. Tucker, Another Gospel (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1989), p. 124). “Is more reasonable to conclude that the great pyramid of Gizeh, as well as the other pyramids thereabout, also the sphinx, were built by the rulers of Egypt and under the direction of Satan the Devil. Then Satan put his knowledge in dead stone, which may be called Satan’s Bible, and not God’s stone witness” (The Watchtower, 15 November 1928, p. 344). “Our Lord, the appointed King , is now present, since October 1874 A.D. …and the normal inauguration of his kingly office dates from April 1878, A.D.” Studies in the Scriptures, vol. 4 (Brooklyn: Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, 1897, p. 621). “The second coming of the Lord therefore began in 1874…” Creation (Brooklyn: watchtower Bible and Tract Society, 1927), p. 289). “The Scriptural proof is that the second presence of the Lord Jesus Christ began in 1874 A.D.” (Prophecy, p. 65). “No one can properly understand the work of God at this time who does not realize that since 1874, the time of the Lord’s return in power, there has been a complete change in God’s Operations” (The Watchtower, 1 March 1922, p. 67).

– Daniel R. Vess