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What does 'the Lord's day' in Revelation 1:10 mean?

Inferred

No single verse settles it; the conclusion is assembled across texts and leans one way.

The text does not define "the Lord's day," and no other scripture explicitly equates the phrase with a specific day of the week. The two main readings, Sunday (the first day, the day of resurrection) and the seventh-day Sabbath, are both assembled by inference, with Sunday leaning slightly ahead on the weight of how the adjective kyriakos functions in its only other New Testament use and the pattern of first-day gatherings in the early assembly.

The Greek adjective kyriakē ("belonging to the Lord") appears only twice in the entire New Testament, and neither occurrence defines which day of the week it refers to. Every identification of "the Lord's day" with a specific day requires a step not stated in the text.

What scripture leaves unaddressed: The text is silent on which specific day of the week "the Lord's day" refers to. No canonical text explicitly equates the Greek adjective kyriakē hēmera with either the first day of the week (Sunday) or the seventh-day Sabbath.

Key texts:
Revelation 1:10Tier 3 · Apostle
I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice, like a trumpet
Revelation 1:10Tier 3 · Apostle
ἐγενόμην ἐν πνεύματι ἐν τῇ κυριακῇ ἡμέρᾳ, καὶ ἤκουσα ὀπίσω μου φωνὴν μεγάλην ὡς σάλπιγγος
1 Corinthians 11:20Tier 4 · Apostle
When therefore you assemble yourselves together, it is not the Lord’s supper that you eat.

…and 10 more verses weighed in the full analysis.

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Original-language words behind this answer:
méchri (Greek G3360)mnēmeîon (Greek G3419)kâbad (Hebrew H3513)derek (Hebrew H1870)

SAM answers from primary-source texts only, weighing each verse by its authority tier. Every quotation is verified word-for-word. How the method works →

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