Albert Barnes Commentary Revelation 1:10

"I was in the Spirit on the Lord`s day, and I heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet" — Revelation 1:10 (ASV)

I was in the Spirit. This cannot refer to his own spirit—for such an expression would be unintelligible. The language then must refer to some unusual state, or to some influence that had been brought to bear upon him from outside, that was appropriate for such a day.

The word Spirit may refer either to the Holy Spirit or to some state of mind such as the Holy Spirit produces—a spirit of elevated devotion, a state of high and uncommon religious enjoyment. It is clear that John does not mean here to say that he was under the influence of the Holy Spirit in such a sense that he was inspired, for the command to make a record, as well as the visions, came after the time referred to.

The true meaning of the passage is that he was at that time greatly favored with the influences of the Holy Spirit—the spirit of true devotion. He had a high state of religious enjoyment and was in a condition suitable for the remarkable communications made to him on that day.

The state of mind in which he was at the time referred to here is not such as the prophets are often represented to have been in when under prophetic inspiration (Ezekiel 8:3; Ezekiel 40:2; Jeremiah 24:1). This prophetic inspiration was often accompanied by an entire prostration of bodily strength (Ezekiel 1:28; Daniel 10:8–10; 1 Samuel 19:24; Revelation 1:17).

Instead, it was such as any Christian may experience when in a high state of religious enjoyment. He was not yet under the prophetic ecstasy (Acts 11:5; Acts 22:17) but was, though in a lonely and barren island and far away from the privileges of the sanctuary, permitted to greatly enjoy the consolations of religion.

This is an illustration of the great truth that God can meet His people anywhere. When in solitude and in circumstances of outward affliction, when persecuted and cast out, when deprived of the public means of grace and the society of religious friends, He can meet them with the abundant consolations of His grace and pour joy and peace into their souls.

This state was suitable for the revelations that were about to be made to John, but this itself was not that revelatory state. It was a state that seems to have resulted from the fact that on that desert island, he devoted the day to the worship of God. By honoring the day dedicated to the memory of the risen Savior, he found, as all will find, that it was attended with rich spiritual influences on his soul.

On the Lord's day. The word here translated Lord's—kuriakē—occurs only in this place and in 1 Corinthians 11:20, where it is applied to the Lord's Supper. It properly means pertaining to the Lord. As far as this word is concerned, it might mean a day pertaining to the Lord in any sense or for any reason: either because He claimed it as His own and had set it apart for His own service; because it was designed to commemorate some important event pertaining to Him; or because it was observed in honor of Him. It is clear:

1. That this refers to some day that was distinguished from all other days of the week, and that would be sufficiently identified by the use of this term.
2. That it was a day that for some reason was regarded as especially a day of the Lord, or especially devoted to Him.
3. That it would further appear this was a day particularly devoted to the Lord Jesus, because: (a) that is the natural meaning of the word Lord as used in the New Testament (see Barnes on Acts 1:24), and (b) if the Jewish Sabbath were intended to be designated, the word Sabbath would have been used.

The term was generally used by the early Christians to denote the first day of the week. It occurs twice in the Epistle of Ignatius to the Magnesians (around A.D. 101), who calls the Lord's day "the queen and prince of all days." Chrysostom (on Psalm 119) says, "It was called the Lord's day because the Lord rose from the dead on that day."

Later fathers make a marked distinction between the Sabbath and the Lord's day, meaning by the former the Jewish Sabbath, or the seventh day of the week, and by the latter the first day of the week kept holy by Christians.

So Theodoret (Fabulae Haereticorum ii.1), speaking of the Ebionites, says, "They keep the Sabbath according to the Jewish law, and sanctify the Lord's day in like manner as we do."—Professor Stuart.

The strong probability is that the name was given to this day in honor of the Lord Jesus and because He rose on that day from the dead. No one can doubt that it was an appellation given to the first day of the week, and the passage therefore proves:

1. That day was thus early distinguished in some particular manner, so that the mere mention of it would be sufficient to identify it in the minds of those to whom the apostle wrote.
2. That it was in some sense regarded as devoted to the Lord Jesus, or was designed in some way to commemorate what He had done.
3. That if this book were written by the apostle John, the observance of that day has apostolic sanction.

John had clearly, in accordance with a prevailing custom, set apart this day in honor of the Lord Jesus. Though alone, he was engaged on that day in acts of devotion. Though far away from the sanctuary, he enjoyed what all Christians hope to enjoy on such a day of rest, and what not a few do in fact enjoy in its observance.

We may remark in view of this statement:

• That when away from the sanctuary and deprived of its privileges, we should nevertheless not fail to observe the Christian Sabbath. If on a bed of sickness, if in a land of strangers, if on the deep, if in a foreign land, if on a lonely island as John was—where we have none of the advantages of public worship—we should still honor the Sabbath. We should worship God alone if we have none to unite with us. We should show to those around us, if we are with strangers, by our dress and our conversation, by a serious and devout manner, by abstinence from labor, and by resting from travel, that we devoutly regard this day as set apart for God.
• We may expect, in such circumstances and with such a devout observance of the day, that God will meet with us and bless us. It was on a lonely island, far away from the sanctuary and from the society of Christian friends, that the Savior met "the beloved disciple," and we may trust it will be so with us.

For on such a desert island, in a lonely forest, on the deep, or amid strangers in a foreign land, He can as easily meet us as in the sanctuary where we have been accustomed to worship and when surrounded by all the privileges of a Christian land.

No man—at home or abroad, among friends or strangers, enjoying the privileges of the sanctuary or deprived of those privileges—ever kept the Christian Sabbath in a devout manner without profit to his own soul. When deprived of the privileges of public worship, the visitations of the Savior to the soul may be more than a compensation for all our privations. Who would not be willing to be banished to a lonely island like Patmos, if he might enjoy such a glorious vision of the Redeemer as John was favored with there?

And heard behind me a great voice. This was a loud voice. It was, of course, sudden and took him by surprise.

As of a trumpet. This means it was as loud as a trumpet. This is evidently the only point in the comparison. It does not mean that the tones of the voice resembled a trumpet, but only that it was clear, loud, and distinct like a trumpet. A trumpet is a well-known wind instrument distinguished for the clearness of its sounds and was used for calling assemblies together, for marshalling hosts for battle, and so on. The Hebrew word commonly used to denote a trumpet, shophar, means bright and clear. It is supposed to have been given to the instrument on account of its clear and shrill sound, just as we now give the name "clarion" to a certain wind instrument. The Hebrew trumpet is often referred to as being used, because of its clearness, to summon people together (Exodus 19:13; Numbers 10:10; Judges 7:18; 1 Samuel 13:3; 2 Samuel 15:10).