Why do churches meet on Sunday? The churches in the New Testament met on the first day of the week. Luke reported this is the common practice of churches of Christ (Acts 20:7). However, is this passage all the Bible speaks about meeting on the first day of the week?
The Lord’s Day
The apostle John revealed, “I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day” (Rev 1:10). This Lord’s Day is not the Day of the Lord’s coming evidently or the Book of Revelation would have been too late and it would not have been written because John was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day. On this “Lord’s Day,” John heard a loud voice behind him like a trumpet, and it was the voice of Christ telling John to write a book and send it to seven churches of Asia (Rev 1:11). When John turned around, he saw the One who looked like the “Son of Man” in the midst of seven lamp stands. This “Son of Man” is the one whose voice sounded like the roar of many waters and from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword. John described him as a man in a long robe, a gold sash around his chest, and he shined like the sun in full strength. The man identified himself as “the first and the last” and “I died, and behold I am alive forevermore” (Rev 1).
In the Midst of Lamp Stands
What is significant that Christ is in the midst of the seven lamp stands? These seven lamp stands are the seven churches of Asia (Rev 1:20). Christ was in the midst of the churches on the Lord’s Day. “In the midst” is from Greek phrase en meso, which is also found in Matthew 18:20, where Jesus said, “For where two or three are gathered together in My name, there am I in the midst of them.” Paul also refers to the gathering of the saints as being in Christ’s name (1 Cor 5:4). In Revelation 1, John has presented that Christ was in the midst of the churches on the Lord’s Day. The Lord’s Day is the day of the assembly.
The Day of Assembly
Furthermore, the Greek word for “Lord” for “Lord’s Day” in Revelation 1:10 is the adjective kuriakos. This adjective is found only one other place in 1 Corinthians 11:20 referring to “the Lord’s Supper.” The churches in the New Testament only partook of the he Lord’s Supper when they gathered together. These descriptions identify again that the Lord’s Day is the day of the assembly in which Christians partook of the Lord’s Supper. A day known by all Christians especially those of whom Christ writes to in Asia Minor. The command for the assembly and the Lord’s Supper clearly include the Lord’s Day. Which day is this?
The First Day of the Week
Luke reported, “And upon the first day of the week when the disciples having been assembled to break bread,” (Acts 20:7a). The first day of the week was the day of assembling of the disciples to break bread. The apostle Paul described this breaking of bread as the Lord’s Supper (1 Cor 10:16). Paul described the assembly as when Christians came together to eat the Lord’s Supper (1 Cor 11:33; cf. 11:21–22). This is the Lord’s Day for which John wrote.
Christ rose on the first day of the week (Matt 28:1; John 20:19). Jesus met with the eleven on this day (John 20:19). Jesus blessed the bread for the Lord’s Supper on this day (Luke 24:30, 35). The Church established on the Day of Pentecost which was on the first day of the week (Acts 2:1; cf. Pentecost Lev 23:15–16). The churches collected to aid other churches in need on this day (1 Cor 16:1). The Scriptures repeatedly record that the day of Jesus’s resurrection was on the “third day” (Matt 16:21; 17:23; 20:19; 27:64; Mark 9:31, Luke 9:22; 13:32; 18:33; 24:7, 21, 46; Acts 10:40; 1 Cor 15:4).
Conclusion
The Lord’s Day is the first day of the week for the assembly in Christ’s name. This is the day of the assembly to partake of the Lord’s Supper, and on this day, Christ is in the midst of His churches. When must Christians assemble? If anyone loves Christ, they will assemble on the first day of the week (John 14:21, 23; 1 John 5:3; 2 John 6). The apostle Paul exhorted, “And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together [the assembly], as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near” (Heb 10:24–25 ESV).
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I agree 1000%, Leviticus 23 says it all, & they “wrest” (wrestle) with Scripture, with the fact that the Lord’s Day is not the 1st day AND that they forget the day God says remember means hellfire.
Seriously, if they just compare Revelation 14:6-13 to Exodus 20:8-11 & notice the God’s seal is found in the forehead of His people, who acknowledge Him as the one & only Creator who made Heaven & Earth, the fountains of the waters…the sea & all that in them…IS!
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Jesus became our sacrafice, it has nothing to do with what day is the Lord`s day, you need to read all of Leviticus 23, not just one verse, their were some cerimonal sacrifices that did end at the cross, not all of them did, but it sure is amazing how many people wont to say that the Sabbath ended there but the other nine commandmenrts are still in effect………people want to follow mans tradition now, not the Bible, look how many keep sunday as the sabbath but cant wait until church is over so they can go shopping or out to eat, i havent met any that keep this false day holy as we were instructed to keep the real Sabbath……
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One thing is for sure, when Christ comes back there will be no argueing over which day is which. I`m pretty sure he will make it plain to us all what day is the Sabbath, as for me i will continue to worship on Gods Sabbath, the seventh day of the week, being your pagan saturday, not on sunday the first day of the week named in honor of the sun god not the Son of God……
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(Wups) How could the 7th Day Sabbath be a shadow if there was no offering or sacrifice to symbolize Jesus Christ?
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Is the “collection for the saints” the same as tithe & offering? See 1 Cor. 16:1; Rom 15:25-27; Acts 11:29. The answer is “no”. The collection was for poor & needy saints.
Is the 1st day or Sunday the day of the assembly in Hebrews 10:25?
Convocation – assembly; see Leviticus 23:4 & find the holy (sacred) assembly is the 7th Day Sabbath
What symbolizes Jesus’ Resurrection? See Col. 2:12; Romans 6:4, 5, & the answer is Baptism.
What symbolized Jesus’ Resurrection? read carefully Leviticus 23
Passover – 14th day of the 1st month; symbol of the offering at Jesus’ crucifixion in Exodus 12:2,5,6 & Leviticus 23:5
Unleavens – 15th day of the 1st month; symbol of the offering at Jesus’ rest (in death) see Leviticus 23:6-8
First Fruits – 16th day of the 1st month; for a symbol of the offering at Jesus’ resurrection see Leviticus 23:10-14; compare the meat & drink offering of Lev. 23:13 to Colossians 2:16
First Fruits prophesied the 16th as the day Jesus resurrected, but was it foretold that it would be the 1st day of the week?
Either way the 15th was the 7th Day Sabbath, & the 14th was the Preparation Day.
Colossians 2:16-17, “…sabbath days…which were shadows of things to come, but the body is of Christ.” So, which sabbath days were shadows? …and how?
Well, the answer is offering foreshadowed the sacrifice of Jesus, & you simply can research Leviticus 23 to find which sabbath days called for offering. No offering, no shadow, & the 7th Day called for no offering…so no shadow.
Jesus put an end to 7 out of 8 Sabbaths by the sacrifice of His body. How the 7th Day be a shadow if there was no offering or sacrifice to symbolize Jesus Christ?
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Whats so important about Acts 20:7? This only says that the disciples came to break bread on the first day of the week “sunday” but they gathered together often to break bread, not just one day, look at your callender and see which day is the first day of the week, then look under the Emperor Constantine and you will find that he changed Gods Sabbath to sunday in order to worship the sun god not the Son of God. Now what does it say on Constatines site? What he did was legalize Christianity, return confiscated Church property, and establish Sunday as a day of worship. http://orthodoxwiki.org/Constantine_the_Great This is why most people dont believe that the Sabbath is the Lord`s day, they dont believe that the seventh-day Sabbath is the day of worship, they had rather follow man and tradition than to follow Gods word, Street Preacher….
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If one confesses that the bible is the word of God written by holy men inspired by God then they would know what is the Lord`s day. After all, all they have to do is search the scriptures for truth. On what day does John say he was in the spirit? I was in the spirit on the Lord`s day. Revelation 1:10. What day does the commandment say is the Lord`s? The seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord, Exodus 20:10. What does the prophet Isaiah, speaking for God call the seventh-day Sabbath? It shall be called ” My holy day” Isaiah 58:13. This is no commandment for the Jews. The sabbath was created by God during creation, before any man had been created, Gennisis 2:2 says, and on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all the work in which he had made. So the Lords day was created before man as a day of rest. When John had his vision on the island of Patmos he was having a vision and heard a voice like a trumpet. Why should anyone else hear this? It was a vision directed to him alone, no one else saw what he witnessed during that time. This had to be during the Sabbath, even the Romans observed the keeping of the Sabbath, had it of been any other day John and all the other prisioners would have been working. Jesus said that the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. God, the same yesterday, today and tomorrow, if you believe this than you should believe that the word of God never changes, it stayes the same also, only man changes and man follows tradition.The prophet Daniel warned us of this changing that would come about in Daniel 7:25. Man has changed the seventh-day Sabbath to sunday, God never changed anything or never will. Come judgement day all will come to know the truth, i do not wish to argue the bible, it is like politics, everyone has their own interputation of what is being said, but if you search the scriptuers you will find the truth and the truth will make you free, may God bless you all, Street Preacher……
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Lord’s Day is not the Sabbath where God rested, rested and make holy.
People mistakenly take the Lord’s Day as the day the Lord blessed.
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The LORDS day is mentioned only one time in the bible being found in the book of Revelation. In chapter 1 verse 10 John says I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet. This could only be the Sabbath. For the island was a hard labor mining prision and it would have been impossiable for John to be taken up to heaven in spirit on any other day . Time would not have been suficent for this event to have taken place on any other day.
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With man this would be impossiable, but with God all things are possiable….How could John a mortal man be taken in the spirit anywhere except by the hand of God?
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