L-O-R-D's Day or the Day of Yahweh?

Every Friday the announcer of Alistair Begg’s Truth for Life radio program encourages listeners to be in church on Sunday, the “L-o-r-d’s day.” Is this really Truth for Life? Did Yahshua ever proclaim to be the Master of Sunday? What exactly is the day of the L-O-R-D? This article will answer these questions.

The resounding answer to our first question is no! Yahshua never claimed to be the Master of Sunday. In fact, “Sunday” as a proper name for a day of the week was not even being used during his time on earth. Our scriptures call this day “the first day of the week.” More specifically, standard Bible translation italicized ‘day’ – meaning the translators ADDED this word to make better sense of such passages as:

Matthew 28:1 In the end of the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first [day] of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre.

Mark 16:2 And very early in the morning the first [day] of the week, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun.

Luke 24:1 Now upon the first [day] of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain [others] with them.

John 20:1 The first [day] of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre.

The truth is that in the extant manuscripts of the above writings, day is not there! These manuscripts simply read “...the first of the week.” According to Hebrew reckoning, this could be Sunday, Monday, or Tuesday – day one, two, or three of the week. Nothing whatsoever is mentioned of Yahshua being Master of any of these days.

There is a day that Yahshua claims Mastery over. Any guesses as to which day that would be? If you answered “the Sabbath,” you would be absolutely correct.

Matthew 12:8 For the Son of Man is Master of the Sabbath

Luke 6:5 And he said unto them, That the Son of man is Master also of the Sabbath.

What does it mean when the verses say that the Son of Man was “Master of the Sabbath?”
The title is used in Daniel 7:13 with reference to the Messiah. It identifies the humanity of Yahshua Ha Mashiach. He was Son of Yahweh and Son of Man.

Daniel 7:13,14 I saw in the night visions, and, behold, [one] like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion [is] an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom [that] which shall not be destroyed.

The Jews had many traditions with respect to the Sabbath and how it was to be kept. They had many regulations restricting behavior that were not found as prohibitions in the Torah of Moses. They did not allow the lighting of candles on the Sabbath. They made it unlawful to throw more grain to their poultry than could be eaten lest some of it might sprout and grow and therefore they would be guilty of sowing on the Sabbath. They taught that it was unlawful to swat a fly on the Sabbath. Today there are man-made prohibitions against picking one’s nose so that a nose hair is removed on Shabbat; The tearing of toilet paper is also prohibited in some sectors of Judaism.

Yahshua did not think that it was necessary to observe all of the trivial oral regulations that came about through the traditions of men even though it brought criticism of himself and his followers on numerous occasions. Yahshua received more criticism about what he did and did not do on the Sabbath than he got on any other matter. The result of this is recorded for us in Luke’s evangel:

Luke 6:11 And they [the scribes and Pharisees] were filled with madness; and communed one with another what they might do to Yahshua.

Every scriptural reference to Yahshua’s doing good on the Sabbath was met with the ire of the religious leaders. It was against the teaching of traditions that Yahshua showed ownership and mastery. Yahshua’s Sabbath exploits proved the hardness of the scribes and Pharisees hearts. In order to preserve their position(s) within society, they sought ways to kill Yahshua.

Yahshua proved his ultimate Mastery over the Sabbath by being resurrected on a Sabbath. Recall our Matthew 28:1 verse: In the end of the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first [day] of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre.Matthew could only mean by "In the end of the Sabbath"– the time late on Saturday afternoon – as the sun was about to set. While the sun is still up it is still the Sabbath, but admittedly very late on the Sabbath, for when the sun sinks below the horizon the next day has begun.

The sun had not set when the two Marys first came, not to anoint but to view the tomb. It was still the Sabbath, and the Redeemer had already risen. His resurrection took place between three o'clock in the afternoon and before the setting sun on the weekly Sabbath. We can be assured that Yahshua is indeed Master of the Sabbath, to the praise of Yahweh!

Next, we turn our attention to our second question (above).
What exactly is the day of the L-O-R-D? We must remember that where ever the title L-O-R-D is written in standard Bible translations it is a “code word” for the Tetragrammaton, to wit, the four letter Revealed Name YHWH [Yahweh]. With this in mind, please know that I will be substituting L-O-R-D for the Revealed Name in the scriptures below to the end that we may better understand the truth of our subject.

The Apostolic Writings several times refers to the “day” of [Messiah] Christ in the context of an impending judgment. In order to understand how this term is used in the Renewed Covenant, it is necessary to look at how a Hebrew precursor of the phrase is used.

The phrase “the day of the L-O-R-D” (TDOL) occurs 26 times in the Hebrew Scriptures, always in the prophetic literature. Six of these occurrences refer to a “day of the L-o-r-d's...” but not all of these refer to a future event. We begin, with Isaiah:

Isaiah 2:12 For the day of YHWH of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty, and upon every one that is lifted up; and he shall be brought low...

The first example of TDOL occurs in the context of an oracle which predicts in the “last” or future days a time when “all nations” will flow to the house of YHWH (2:2) and there will be an end of all war (2:4) and proud men are humbled (2:11-17) or try to hide from the judgment of Elohim (2:19ff). This use clearly indicates a picture of final judgment.

Isaiah 13:6-9 Howl ye; for the day of the YHWH is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty. Therefore shall all hands be faint, and every man's heart shall melt: And they shall be afraid: pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them; they shall be in pain as a woman that travails in child birth: they shall be amazed one at another; their faces shall be as flames. Behold, the day of YHWH comes, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it.

This time, though, TDOL is a judgment directed exclusively against Babylon. Babylon is directly addressed (13:1, 19) and the Medes are said to be the instrument of Babylon's destruction (13:17). For reference, take note as well of how this singular judgment is described:

Isaiah 13:10-13 For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine. And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible. I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir. Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove out of her place, in the wrath of YHWH of hosts, and in the day of his fierce anger.

It is easy to see a parallel to Yahshua’s pronouncements upon Jerusalem. Again, such language is found in Isaiah's last reference:

Isaiah 34:4, 8-10 And all the host of heaven shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll: and all their host shall fall down, as the leaf falls off from the vine, and as a falling fig from the fig tree...For it is the day of YHWH’s vengeance, and the year of recompenses for the controversy of Zion. And the streams thereof shall be turned into pitch, and the dust thereof into brimstone, and the land thereof shall become burning pitch. It shall not be quenched night nor day; the smoke thereof shall go up for ever: from generation to generation it shall lie waste; none shall pass through it for ever and ever.

Isaiah. 34 is an oracle of judgment against Edom. Note here that the “day” of YHWH is equated with the “year of recompense,” thus indicating that “the day of YHWH” isn't associated with a single 24-hour period. (Stuart notes that the phrase likely originated in the ANE conception of an ideal warrior who could vanquish foes in a day; Hosea-Jonah commentary, 231.)

Jeremiah 46:10 For this is the day of YHWH Elohim of hosts, a day of vengeance, that he may avenge him of his adversaries: and the sword shall devour, and it shall be satiate and made drunk with their blood: for YHWH Elohim of hosts hath a sacrifice in the north country by the river Euphrates. The oracle this time is a warning to Egypt (46:2) and to the Pharaoh of Jeremiah's day.


Jeremiah also used this phrase in Lamentations:

Lamentations 2:22 Thou hast called as in a solemn day my terrors round about, so that in the day of YHWH’s anger none escaped nor remained: those that I have swaddled and brought up hath mine enemy consumed.

In this case, TDOL is used to refer to a past event of judgment, this time upon Jerusalem.

Next up: Ezekiel –

Ezekiel 13:5 Ye have not gone up into the gaps, neither made up the hedge for the house of Israel to stand in the battle in the day of YHWH.

This warning is made to Israel's prophets (13:1) and is an admonition against them for being false prophets (13:6-7). These prophets have predicted peace for Jerusalem (13:16). The reference to TDOL is most likely here to the impending Babylonian attack on Jerusalem.
Ezekiel 30:3 For the day is near, even the day of YHWH is near, a cloudy day; it shall be the time of the heathen.

The oracle this time is against Egypt, and Babylon will be the mechanism of judgment (30:10).
The next five references are from the book of Joel.

Joel 1:15 Alas for the day! for the day of YHWH is at hand, and as a destruction from the Almighty shall it come.

Joel 2:1 Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of YHWH cometh, for it is nigh at hand;

Joel 2:11 And YHWH shall utter his voice before his army: for his camp is very great: for he is strong that executes his word: for the day of YHWH is great and very terrible; and who can abide it?

Joel 2:31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of YHWH come.

Joel 3:14 Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of YHWH is near in the valley of decision.

Because of the difficulty in knowing when Joel was written, it is not possible to say in all cases who the “enemy” is. It is enough to say for now that at least the first three references are to an impending judgment against the Jews.

The next three references to TDOL are from Amos, who was probably the first of the prophets chronologically to use the phrase.

Amos 5:18-20 Woe unto you that desire the day of YHWH! to what end is it for you? the day of YHWH is darkness, and not light. As if a man did flee from a lion, and a bear met him; or went into the house, and leaned his hand on the wall, and a serpent bit him. Shall not the day of YHWH be darkness, and not light? even very dark, and no brightness in it?

Amos 5-6 is a prophetic oracle against the northern kingdom of Israel.

Minor prophet Obadiah makes the next use of the phrase:

Obadiah 15 For the day of YHWH is near upon all the heathen: as thou hast done, it shall be done unto thee: thy reward shall return upon thine own head.

Obadiah's oracle is upon Edom, and it is clear that Obadiah expects TDOL to affect Edom.

Next, Zephaniah takes his turn:

Zephaniah 1:8 Hold thy peace at the presence of YHWH Elohim: for the day of YHWH is at hand: for YHWH hath prepared a sacrifice, he hath bid his guests. And it shall come to pass in the day of YHWH’s sacrifice, that I will punish the princes, and the king's children, and all such as are clothed with strange apparel.

Zephaniah 1:14 The great day of YHWH is near, it is near, and hasteth greatly, even the voice of the day of YHWH: the mighty man shall cry there bitterly.

Zephaniah 1:18-2:3 Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of YHWH’s wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land. Gather yourselves together, yea, gather together, O nation not desired; Before the decree bring forth, before the day pass as the chaff, before the fierce anger of YHWH come upon you, before the day of YHWH’s anger come upon you. Seek ye YHWH, all ye meek of the earth, which have wrought his judgment; seek righteousness, seek meekness: it may be ye shall be hid in the day of YHWH’s anger.
These oracles are against Jerusalem and Judah (1:14). Again it is worth noting, for future reference, the symbolism used:

Zephaniah 1:15-17 That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness, A day of the trumpet and alarm against the fenced cities, and against the high towers. And I will bring distress upon men, that they shall walk like blind men, because they have sinned against YHWH: and their blood shall be poured out as dust, and their flesh as the dung.

Now Zechariah has some use for the phrase:

Zechariah 14:1 Behold, the day of YHWH cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee.

For the first time since Isaiah, TDOL may here be used as a phrase reflecting final judgment. YHWH is king over all the earth (14:9) and the nations all come to observe the Feast of Tabernacles (14:16). Preterists, though, see this as a reference to 70 CE and believe we are now in a place where YHWH is king over the earth and we observe the feast in the “heavenly Jerusalem.” I disagree with Preterism, the belief that “last days” prophecy has been accomplished since the destruction of the Jerusalem temple by Titus.

My preferred approach to eschatology (the study of last day events) is that of a ‘continuing historicist.' By this I mean that prophetic events occur in a cyclical manner throughout time. Certainly there are passages that speak to both past and future prophecies of similar nature. Daniel 9:27; 12:11 along with Matthew 24:15; Mark 13:14, and Luke 21:20 all speak to the abomination that makes desolate. Daniel’s prophecy was fulfilled by Antiochus Epiphanies during the time of the Maccabean revolt. The synoptic evangels point to a future fulfillment as do Paul’s second letter to the Thessalonians (2:4ff) and John’s revealed apocalypse. (Rev. 13)

Returning to the day of YHWH – Malachi is the final prophet to use the phrase:

Malachi 4:5 Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of YHWH...

Christian exegetes see this as a prophecy of John the Immerser. Notwithstanding that interpretation, this oracle to the returned exiles speaks of a day that “cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith YHWH of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch. But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall. And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, saith YHWH of hosts.” (4:1-3) To what does this TDOL refer? The day of Yahweh here could not refer to the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 CE, but there is enough within the passage to see a future day of judgment and cleansing.

The writers of the Apostolic scriptures use the phrase, “the day of YHWH” in both present tense and future application:

Acts 2:17- 21 [Peter speaking] But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel; And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith Elohim, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams: And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy: And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke: The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of YHWH come: And it shall come to pass, [that] whosoever shall call on the name of YHWH shall be saved. (Joel 2:28,30,32)

Romans 10:13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of YHWH shall be saved. (Joel 2:32)

I Thessalonians 5:2 For yourselves know perfectly that the day of YHWH so cometh as a thief in the night. (See above Hebrew scripture refs)

II Peter 3:10 But the day of YHWH will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. (Psalm 102:26; Isaiah 51:6)

Revelation 1:10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet

The day of the week on which this happened to be written – IF it could have been all written within one day – is not important, and that is not what this verse means at all. It does not refer to any day of the week; Sunday or any other, rather to that prophetic period referred to in more than 20 prophecies detailed above as "The great and terrible DAY OF YHWH."

Greek scholar Adolf Deissmann wrote, the grammar and connection both favor the view "according to which ‘the day of the Lord’ here stands for the day of Yahweh: the day of Judgment" (Encyclopedia Biblica, article "Lord's Day"). Renewed Testament and textual scholar F.J.A. Hort agrees that this meaning fits "best with the context" and "gives the key to the book" (The Apocalypse, pp. 15-16).

The "Day of YHWH" is described by the Prophet Joel (See above) as a time when Yahweh will send destruction upon the unrighteous and sinning nations of earth. It is described by Zephaniah as the day of YHWH’s anger/wrath. It is described all through the Revelation as the time when Yahweh Almighty will step in and supernaturally intervene in this world’s strife and friction and destruction among men, and send plagues upon the sinners of the earth! It is the time which comes after the Great Tribulation, and leads up to and climaxes with the glorious second coming of Messiah Yahshua

The late John Ogwyn wrote:

"Most commentators completely misunderstand Revelation 1:10. As a result, they do not understand the perspective from which the entire book was written. When John declared that he was in the Spirit in the Lord’s Day (Note that, elsewhere in the New Testament, the Greek word en is almost always translated "in," though many wrongly render it here as "on"), he was not talking about the day of the week on which he received the prophecy. Rather, he was describing the future prophetic time that he saw in vision—a time when God [Yahweh] will intervene powerfully in end-time world affairs. John’s perspective in writing Revelation was this vision of the future" (Ogywn J., Revelation The Mystery Unveiled!, 2006, p. 6).

Therefore, it appears that many believe that the proper way to understand the expression ‘L-o- r-d’s Day’ in Revelation 1:10, is that it is not referring to any day of the week, but is referring to the Day of Yahweh as a particular period of time as detailed throughout this article.

Conclusion: "The day of YHWH" is a general phrase of judgment that can and does describe the final eschatological judgment of the world, but more often the phrase describes any forthcoming day of judgment. What "day" is in mind is determined by context, not merely by the phrase itself. Neither is the phrase exclusive to what we call Sunday through Saturday; nor is it indicative of any 24 hour period of time. Furthermore, the Apostolic writings all draw upon Hebraic scriptures to inform us that the L-O-R-D being referred to is none other than Yahweh. And this despite what translators have erroneously substituted as a title in place of the Revealed NAME!