10a John begins a description of his commission to write what he
saw. He has been entrusted with testifying to the revelation of the heavenly
Jesus because he has been faithful in witnessing to the revelation of the
earthly Jesus (this is the significance of the identical phrases in v 2a and v
9b; see the discussion above on v 2a).
The vision came to him on “the
Lord’s day,” perhaps when he was in an attitude of worship on “Sunday” (cf. Barnabas 15:9).
Some contend that ἐν τῇ κυριακῇ ἡμέρᾳ (“on the Lord’s day”) refers to the
eschatological Day of the Lord prophesied in the OT, so that John’s vision
(especially chs. 4–22) is an explanation of how this latter-day expectation
will be (or is being) fulfilled. This would be an attractive idea since the
focus of the book’s visions is end-time judgment. However, κυριακός is never used of the “Day of the
Lord” in the LXX, NT, or early fathers. This is not a fatal objection, but it
puts the burden of proof on those arguing for this “Day of the Lord” view. The
phrase is clearly and consistently used of Sunday from the second half of the
second century on, and John understands the OT idea of the Day of the Lord as
pertaining to the restricted period of the final judgment, exclusive of the
preparatory judgments leading up to it (cf. Rev. 6:17; 16:14).
There is more recent debate about
whether the phrase refers to the Christian Sunday or to Easter Sunday. The
former is certainly preferable because of the unambiguous usage beginning in
the second century and the absence of clear allusions to the latter from the
same time. Some have seen in Rev. 1:1–8 a reflection of an early Christian
liturgical dialogue, which would enhance this identification of “the Lord’s
day” as Sunday. The idea that Rev. 1:10 implies a Christian observance of the
Sabbath is the least likely alternative. (G. K. Beale, The Book
of Revelation: A Commentary on the Greek Text [New International Greek
Testament Commentary; Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 1999], 203)
