JesusSaidFollowMe Blog

Most Christians believe that the Sabbath command is cancelled. And, some believe that all Old Covenant laws are cancelled, including the whole Decalogue. So, why do I believe that all Old Testament laws are cancelled?

In my book “ALL Old Testament Laws Cancelled” I devoted 3 chapters to explaining why the laws from Genesis - Sinai are cancelled. Here are the 3 chapter titles…

13. Since Genesis Is Part of the Law, the Commands From Genesis – Sinai Are Cancelled (Genesis is part of the law as revelation, not as covenant which started later at Sinai.)

16. The Church Is Built on the Foundation of New Testament Apostles and Prophets’ Teaching (Eph. 2:19-20ff., cf. 3:5, 4:11)

17. Archaeology Testifies That the Bible Contains 2 Separate Canons (Rules) (The Old Covenant’s structure has several parallels to ancient, near-Eastern treaties, which included historical introductions. Genesis appears to be the historical introduction to the Old Covenant law of Moses.)

Here is Chapter 13 in its entirety…

“Did you know that Genesis is part of the law as revelation (Old Testament?) Here are 4 reasons showing why Genesis is part of the law…

1. Genesis 21 is called “the law” in Galatians 4:21-22.

“Tell me, you who desire to be under the law, do you not listen to the law? For it is written that Abraham had two sons: one by a slave woman and one by a free woman” (Gal. 4:21-22 referring to Gen. 21; cf. Rom. 3:31ff.)

2. The phrase “law and prophets” means “Genesis – Malachi” (the whole Old Testament).

3. Moses wrote the book of Genesis.

4. Archaeology testifies that Genesis is the historical introduction to the Old Covenant canon. God patterned the Old Covenant’s literary structure with some similarities to ancient, near-Eastern treaties, which included an historical introduction before the actual covenant document.

Ancient covenants were put into effect with a surrounding body of literature, a.k.a. canon. Covenant produces canon. Our Bible is made of 2 major covenants, the Old and New covenants, each surrounded by its own canon, the Old and New Testaments.

(To understand this more, see The Structure of Biblical Authority in #17 below…)

So, when the New Testament says the law is cancelled, that includes Genesis, not just post-Sinai commands.” (Excerpted from the book: “ALL Old Testament Laws Cancelled”, 24 Reasons Why All Old Testament Laws Are Cancelled, And All New Testament Laws Are for Our Obedience, by Greg Gibson, p. 86)

“I was in the Spirit in the Lord’s day” (Revelation 1:10)

Have you ever heard Sunday called “the Lord’s Day?” Reformed, Covenant Theology believes that the Lord’s Day = Sunday = the Sabbath.

Here is their Lord’s Day/Sabbath view defined by the Westminster Confession of Faith and the Second London Baptist Confession of Faith of 1689…

“…He hath particularly appointed one day in seven, for a Sabbath, to be kept holy unto Him; which from the beginning of the world to the resurrection of Christ, was the last day of the week; and, from the resurrection of Christ, was changed into the first day of the week, which, (in Scripture [W.C.F. only]) is called the Lord’s Day, and is to be continued to the end of the world, as the Christian Sabbath.” (W.C.F. 21:7; 1689 L.B.C.F 22:7)

Let’s examine Revelation 1:10 more closely to see if it’s really true that the Lord’s Day = the Sabbath…

In Revelation, John’s 3 Other Uses of “In the Spirit”
Refer to a Future, Eschatological Time, Not the 1st Century

“…I will show you what must take place after this. At once I was in the Spirit…” (Revelation 4:1-2; Rev. ch. 4-22: the first century - the end of time)

“Come, I will show you the judgment of the great prostitute….And he carried me awayin the Spirit into a wilderness, and I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was full of blasphemous names, and it had seven heads and ten horns.” (Revelation 17:3; the future, final judgment of Babylon at the end of time)

“Come, I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb. And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great, high mountain, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God,” (Revelation 21:9-10; the future, descent of the New Jerusalem to the new earth at the end of time)

Since in Revelation, John’s 3 other uses of “in the Spirit” refer to a prophetic revelation about a future, eschatological time, it’s likely that Revelation 1:10 also refers to a future, eschatological time, not the day John wrote on in the first century.

6 Things Revelation 1:10 Does Not Say

Many years ago while listening to an audiotape about the Sabbath, the teacher observed that Revelation 1:10 says nothing about the Sabbath. All of a sudden, a lightbulb turned-on in my head, and I felt like I fell out of my theological chair!

You see, for the first 10 years of my Christian life, whenever anyone said, “Lord’s Day,” my mind thought “Sabbath.” Why? Because men had told me that the the Lord’s Day = the Sabbath. But, when I took a fresh look at Revelation 1:10, I realized that it says nothing about the Sabbath. As a matter of fact, here are 6 things that Revelation 1:10 does not say…

1. The Sabbath

2. Seventh day of the week

3. First day of the week

4. Rest

5. Work

6. Worship

These 6 ideas have been assumed, and read into (eisegesis) the passage, instead of read out of (exegesis) the passage. But notice, Revelation 1:10 is a description, not a prescription. In other words, it’s a fact, not a command. It’s an indicative, not an imperative. John was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day, period. It doesn’t command…

“Keep the Lord’s Day”

“You shall not work on the Lord’s Day”

“Rest on the Lord’s Day”

“Worship on the Lord’s Day”

All of these duties have been read into Revelation 1:10 by Sabbatarians.

How Often Is the Lord’s Day?

How often is the the Lord’s Day? Or, what is the frequency of the Lord’s Day? Sabbatarians assume the Lord’s Day is weekly. But, the verse says nothing about it’s frequency. Maybe the Lord’s Day is…

1. Daily like “exhort one another every day, as long as it is called ‘today?’”

2. Weekly like the Sabbath?

3. Monthly like the New Moon Festival?

4. Annually like the Day of Atonement?

5. Every 50 years like the Day of Jubilee?

6. Once like the Day of the Lord?

Remember, we saw that Revelation 1:10 says nothing about…

“One day in seven”

“Every week”

“The seventh day of the week”

“The first day of the week”

Clearly, no one can know from Revelation 1:10 how often the Lord’s Day occurs. To claim that the Lord’s Day is weekly is merely an assumption.

The Book of Revelation Climaxes in the Day of the Lord

The timing of Revelation’s prophecies (ch. 4-22) stretches from the first century to the end of time. However, they climax at the end of time in the day of the Lord…

“…the great day of God the Almighty. Behold, I am coming like a thief…” (Revelation 16:14-15)

“for the great day of their wrath has come…” (Revelation 6:17)

“…the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night…then sudden destruction will come upon them…” (1 Thessalonians 5:2)

“But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved…” (2 Peter 3:10)

“The sky vanished like a scroll that is being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place.” (Revelation 6:14)

“…From His presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them.” (Revelation 20:11)

“…for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away…” (Revelation 21:1)

“….we ask you, brothers, not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed…that the day of the Lord has come…For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction…” (2 Thessalonians 2:1-3; cf. Rev. ch. 13)

No Biblical Evidence for Lord’s Day = Sunday = Sabbath

There is no Biblical evidence that the Lord’s Day is the Sabbath or Sunday. I repeat, there is zero evidence in the Bible that the Lord’s Day is Sunday or the Sabbath. Sabbath-keeping has been read into Revelation 1:10. We should not call Sunday “the Lord’s Day.”

(There is some historical evidence that the Lord’s Day may be Sunday. But, that early evidence is based on questionable sources and questionable interpretations. The later evidence is more credible.)

Some Biblical Evidence for Lord’s Day = Day of the Lord

Since “in the Spirit” in Revelation refers to a future, eschatological time, and Revelation climaxes in the Day of the Lord, there is some Biblical evidence that the Lord’s Day may be the Day of the Lord. Let us eagerly anticipate that day by living holy, godly, and pure lives, that we may be unashamed at His coming. (2 Peter 3:11-14; 1 John 2:28-3:3)