THE TESTIMONY OF THEOLOGICAL DICTIONARIES AND ENCYCLOPEDIA ON THE LORD’S DAY

4.7 THE TESTIMONY OF THEOLOGICAL DICTIONARIES

AND ENCYCLOPEDIA ON THE LORD’S DAY
By Dr. Rey V. Entila, Ph.D

     To further drive the point home against the Sabbatarian belief that the Lord’s day is the Sabbath Day or Saturday, this researcher presents the scholarly research of Pastor DM Canright from the Theological dictionaries and Encyclopedia during his time. This is the reason why SDA’s remained silent, ignored his book, attacked Pastor Canright personally, because trying to answer his book would only popularize his work and show the futility of Sabbatarianism. Below is a faithful presentation of Canright’s erudite research. The Seventh-Day Adventists alone claim that the Lord’s Day is the same with the Saturday Sabbath Day. All the Theological Dictionaries and Encyclopedia written by scholars throughout the world are against this claim of the Seventh-Day Adventists.

 TESTIMONY OF LEXICONS AND ENCYCLOPEDIAS

Webster: "Sunday, the first day of the week; the Christian Sabbath; the Lord's Day."

Smith's Dictionary of the Bible: "Lord's Day. The first day of the week, or Sunday, of every age of the church."

Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia: "Lord's Day, the oldest and best designation of the Christian Sabbath, first used by St. John." Rev. 1:10.

Buck's Theological Dictionary, article Sabbath. "It (the first day of the week) is called the Lord's Day." Rev 1:10.

Johnson's New Universal Cyclopedia: "Lord's Day, a name for the first day of the week, derived from Rev. 1:10"

The Greek words rendered "Lord's Day," [Rev. 1:10] and Kuriake hemera. Kuriake, the adjective, is from the noun kurious, and is thus defined:

"Kuriakos" - Of, or pertaining to the Lord, i.e., the Messiah; the Lord's. 1 Cor. 11:20; Rev. 1:10." Greenfield.

"Kuriakos - Pertaining to the Lord, to the Lord Jesus Christ: e.g., kuriakos deipnon, the Lord's supper. [1 Cor. 11:20;] kuriake hemera, the Lord's Day [Rev. 1:10]." Robinson.

"Kurikos - Of, belonging to, concerning a lord or master, especially belonging to the Lord (Christ); hence kuriake hemera, the Lord's Day." Liddell & Scott.

"This is the usual name of Sunday with the subsequent Greek fathers." Parkhurst.

"Kuriakos - Pertaining to the Lord Jesus Christ; the Lord [1 Cor. 11:20; Rev. 1:10."] Bagster's Analytical Greek Lexicon.

So we might go through all the lexicons, finding the same definitions in all. Not a single one refers this term to God the Father, but without an exception all refer it to the Lord Jesus. There must be some good reason for this universal agreement.

So the commentators. "The Lord's Day. The first day of the week." Dr. Clark on Rev. 1:10.

"On the Lord's Day, which can be meant of no other than the day on which the Lord Jesus arose from the dead, even the first day of the week." Scott on Rev. 1:10.

Dr. Barnes says: "This was a day particularly devoted to the Lord Jesus, for (a) that is the natural meaning of the word Lord as used in the New Testament; and (b) if the Jewish Sabbath was intended to be designated, the word Sabbath would have been used."

Prof. Hacket, in his comments on Acts 1:24, says: "Kuriakos, when taken absolutely in the New Testament, refers generally to Christ."

"Lord's Day, namely, the first day of the week." Burkett's Notes on the N.T.

"The Lord's Days, the Christian Sabbath, the first day of the week." Eclectic Commentary on Rev. 1:10.

"The Lord's Day. The first day of the week, commemorating the Lord's resurrection." Family Bible with notes, on Rev. 1:10. Go through the whole list of commentaries, and all say the same thing. Have they no ground for this? Yes, good enough to be conclusive.

1. In all the Bible, the seventh day is never once called the Lord's Day.

2. "The Sabbath" was the term invariably used for the Jewish seventh day. John himself always used that term when speaking of the seventh day. See John 5:9,10,16,18; 7:22,23; 9:14,16; 19:31. Had he meant that day in Rev. 1:10, he certainly would have said "Sabbath Day," not Lord's Day.

3. The Greek word kuriakos, is a new word originating in the New Testament and found only in one other place, 1 Cor. 11:20, "the Lord's supper." Beyond dispute it here applies to the Lord Jesus. "The adjective kuriake was 'formed by the apostles themselves.' [Winer, N.T. Gram., page 226.] To the same effect testify Liddell and Scott. Of the mode of dealing with words in their lexicons, they say: 'We have always sought to give the earliest authority for its use first. Then, if no change was introduced by later writers, we have left it with that early authority alone.' (Pref. page 20) When we turn to the word kuriakos, they give as their first citation, and therefore, as its earliest authority, the New Testament. The question now arises why form a new word to express a sacred institution, if the institution itself be not new? Winer says: 'Entirely new words and phrases were constructed mainly by composition, and for the most part to meet some sensible want.' (Gram. page 25) What conceivable sensible want respecting the Sabbath did the Old Testament leave unexpressed? Clearly the new want arose from a new institution. This position receives additional strength from the fact that the only other New Testament use of kuriakos is found in 1 Cor. 11:20, designating 'the Lord's supper,' which is certainly a new institution." Peter Vogel in debate with Waggoner, page 110. This is a strong point and should be decisive.

 THE TESTIMONY OF THE MODERN ENCYCLOPEDIAS, BIBLICAL AND THEOLOGICAL DICTIONARIES CONCERNING THE LORD’S DAY

     This researcher conversed with a friend who is a long time Pastor of the Seventh-Day Adventist (SDA) Church in Taculing, Bacolod City, concerning the bases of their doctrine that Saturday is the Lord’s day. He answered by quoting Mark 2:28 saying “The Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath”. His conclusion is that the Sabbath day is therefore the Lord’s Day. It is Saturday, not Sunday.

      The SDAs  assert that Mark 2:28 as proof text for Saturday as Lord’s Day. He chuckled when he heard it. For him it was a ridiculous reasoning which is forcing the bible to agree with SDA man-made theology. He said that the opposite is true: Since Jesus is the Lord of the Sabbath or rest Day, He has the power to transfer that rest Day from Saturday to Sunday, just as the landlord has authority over his belongings and could transfer things to other locations as he wishes. Furthermore, this Reformed (Calvinist) pastor remarked “No Bible scholar in the past or in the recent time support the SDA contention. In fact they are alone in their forced interpretation of Sabbath as also the Lord’s Day.”

     Searching the encyclopedias and Biblical dictionaries to see who was telling the truth, this researcher, not surprisingly, found out that Sabbath is indeed different from the Lord’s Day which is Sunday.  

      The following are proofs gathered from the standard references as can be found in encyclopedias, biblical and theological dictionaries, Protestant and Catholic alike. The scholars are UNANIMOUS in their declaration through their years of studies and teaching, that the Lord’s day is indeed the first day or Sunday which the whole Christian church observe as their day of worship.

1. Easton’s Bible Dictionary (2002) on the Lord’s Day

     Only once, in Rev. 1:10, was in the early Christian ages used to denote the first day of the week, which commemorated the Lord's resurrection. There is every reason to conclude that John thus used the name.

2. Ellwell’s Theological Dictionary  (2001) on the  Lord's Day

Text:  Only once does the phrase "the Lord's day" (Gr. te kyriake hemera) occur in the NT and that is in the last book (Rev. 1:10). What it means is debated. Some interpret this as a reference to the eschatological day of the Lord. For others it refers to Easter Sunday. Most, however, understand it as a designation of the first day of the week, Sunday.

 Later references in early Christian literature in which the adjective alone (Gr. kyriake) was used seem to support this. Ignatius, bishop of Antioch, wrote to the Magnesians ca A.D. 115 urging them to "no longer live for the Sabbath but for the Lord's day [Gr. kyriaken], on which day our life arose" (9:1).

 In an early manual of church instruction, the Didache (ca. A.D. 120), Christians were directed to assemble on the Lord's day to worship (14:1). According to the apocryphal Gospel of Peter (ca. A.D. 130) on the night of the Lord's day the stone was rolled away from the tomb (9:35). At dawn on the same day (Gr. orthrou de tes kyriakes) the empty tomb was visited by the women (12:50).

   The term "Sunday" (Gr. heliou hemera), never used by NT writers, first appeared in Christian literature in the work of Justin (ca A.D. 150, First Apology 67.3), who followed the Roman calendar. The name "Sunday" came to the Romans through the Egyptians, who early adopted a week of days named after the sun, moon, and five planets. The first day of the week to the Romans was the day of the sun (Lat. dies solis). In the course of time, however, the Christian designation "the Lord's day" (Lat. dies dominica) came to displace the term "Sunday" throughout the Roman Empire. Modern Romance languages, which developed from the ordinary Latin, reflect this change, referring to the first day of the week as domenica (Italian), domingo (Spanish), and dimanche (French). 

3. Handy Dictionary of the Bible (1995): Lord’s Day, The day especially associated with the Lord jesus Christ; a day consecrated to the Lord; the 1^st day of the week commemorating the resurrection of Jesus (Jn.20:1q-25) and the pouring out of the Spirit                     (Acts 2:1-41); set aside for worship (Acts 20:7).

4. Wycliffe Dictionary of Theology (1999). Lords’ Day. The scriptural authority for the term is found in Rev.1:10 – en te kuriake hemera. The adjective kuriakos, “the Lord’s,” is also found in 1 Cor.11:20 in connection with the Lord’s Supper. In secular use kuriakos signified “imperial” and is extant as early as A.D. 68 (MM 364). The use in 1 Cor.11:20 is earlier, and the fact that paul uses “the first day of the week” in 1 Cor.16;2 seems to show that “the Lord’s Day” was not yet a widely used expression. In post-apostolic literature there are following references to the Lord’s Day: Ignatius Ad Mag. 9:1; Ev. Pet. vss.35 and 50; Barn. 15:9. 

4. Webster’s Dictionary (1998): "Sunday, the first day of the week; the Christian Sabbath; the Lord's Day."

    The bulk of scholarly and objective evidence speak for themselves, that for Christians, the Lord’s Day is to be observed rather than the Old Testament Sabbath day which was commanded only for the Jews.