The Last Day

"I will raise him up at the last day." The Lord Y'shua made that same exact statement three times, which happens to be the number that signifies resurrection. Whatever this day is, we know it will be a resurrection day and also the last day in some regard. For a long time, the three words, "the last day," had seemed to me like such a vague reference that it meant very little. There came a time in the Lord's curriculum that I began to realize that I was missing something of the meaning of this simple phrase.

In my approach to this study, I considered what the last day means from two different perspectives, recognizing that the dimension we call time is in nature both continuous and cyclical. I also took into account the fact that there are more than one meanings of the word "day." I think you'll find this little excursion interesting! I won't be going into great depth or detail, but enough should be written so my findings will make sense to you.

To begin, here are some considerations that pertain to continuous time.

Whichever meaning of "day" you might choose to consider, the very last and final one there will ever be before time is brought to its end certainly qualifies as "the last day." From another perspective, relative to the existence of a particular class of individuals who will experience what is called the second death, "the last day" can refer to that day when they appear before the throne of judgment and are found to be in this category.

I think it is necessary to note here that, since there is going to be the "redemption of all things," those even in this category will not pass entirely out of existence as some believe, but will aquire a degree of redemption in a further age. As you can see, there doesn't appear to be very much insight to be gleaned from the perspective of continuous time, however, there is far more to think about when considering the perspective of cyclical time.

One reason the Creator spoke the celestial lights into being was to mark time. What we call a day is the measure of how long it takes the Earth to rotate once about its axis. It is a measure of time defined by one full cycle of a particular celestial movement. Similarly, a month and a year are defined as a full cycles where one body revolves around another. These celestial movements affect the earth in various ways and were created and are maintained for man's benefit. They produce repeating cycles that are measured from the perspective of earth and, as a great celestial calendar and clock that measures off the passage of time, they mark off seasons and days and years. Those cycling time periods are wholly derived from the natural movement of the celestial bodies, but the Lord's calendar described in the Bible marks time by other cycling time periods as well. These build upon but aren't entirely bound to the movements of the celestial bodies. For example, the week is an arbitrary period of time because, though it is composed of astronomical units, what celestial period relates to sets of seven rotations of the earth? A Jubilee cycle is similar. So far as I know, no 49 or 50 unit cycles have been discovered in the celestial clockworks. It seems clear that the units of calendar time that seem arbitrary are divinely appointed for special purposes. Indeed, every manner of accounting time by the biblical model of timekeeping is ordained for the Master Timekeeper's purposes. These periods that are cyclical in the biblical model of timekeeping afford us greater insight into the meaning of "the last day."

Based upon my findings thus far, I'm going to address three primary contexts.

1. The Week, with varying kinds of days
2. The Yobel
3. The Harvest Festivals.

The first I want to address is the most frequent; the week. Within the context of a week, the last day is the seventh day, one specially marked as the Shabbat or Sabbath. The Shabbat is a fundamental holy day, a special day marked out for our observation that is so important it is the subject of one of the ten commandments. The weekly Sabbath is by far the most frequent holy day and, by its well established character and familiarity as "the last day" of the week, we do well to note that "resurrection" is stamped all over it! Although the third day is the dominant resurrection day number in Scripture, the seventh day is like unto it, being a third day as counted from the week's second starting point. (see Resurrection on the Third Day) Extending the meaning of days and weeks to a broader definition, years themselves are sometimes figuratively referred to as "days" in the Bible. The last day in a Sabbath week of years (Shemittah) is the seventh year. Likewise, a millennial week of one thousand year long "days" has a seventh and last day. In the last day of each of these three kinds of weeks, I believe resurrections are appointed to occur. The biblical accounting of the month is another cyclical celestial period that reveals an awesome prophetic truth, one not to be addressed in this study because the accounting of the monthly cycle concerns the first day rather than the last.

The next one I want to address is the Jubilee, or, Yobel cycle. It's related to the week unit in that it is 7 weeks of years or, a week of weeks in length. (and/or plus one to make 50 years) This cycle has a definite resurrection character marking its last day, as addressed in greater detail in another appendix. The holy day associated with the Yobel is Yom Kippur. There is a strong harvest theme associated with the Yobel, but Yom Kippur is not considered a harvest festival.

The third context to be addressed is the Harvest Festival cycle. It is common to refer to seven primary festivals on the Lord's calendar: Rosh HaShanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, Hanukkah, Pesah, Shavuot and Purim. Two of these, Sukkot and Pesach are multiple day festivals and as such receive some special consideration in this study. The last day of each is rich in resurrection symbolism! These two are the first and last of the three harvest festivals. These are obvious allegorical references to the different "crops" of mankind that will be harvested in turn as each ripens in the appointed season. The harvests are resurrections.

They are also known as the three pilgrimage festivals, which signifies the truth that all men without exclusion will eventually participate in one of the three. The other of these three festivals is only one day in duration but is significantly the last day in the feature of the Feast that is only secondary to that of the firstfruits presentation; the Counting of the Omer. This count is a fifty day count that compares to the Yobel.

The Occurrences of the Phrase

Having laid the foundation for the study, I'd like to familiarize you with each occurance of the phrase under study. In the NIV, the full expression "the last day" appears six times in the Bible, each time in the Gospel of John. Here they are in order of appearance.

The first five speak of rising in resurrection, and the sixth, of the judgment that will occur. In the KJV, the phrase "the last day" appears a total of 8 times, adding Nehemiah 8:18 and John 7:37.

Here, a perusal of the context shows that the focal time period is the Feast of the seventh month - Sukkot, the last day of which has been called Hoshanah Rabbah. (The eighth day's solemn assembly known as Shemini Atzeret would most properly be accounted as a separate event.)

Here is the final verse to consider.

We know from verse 2 of chapter 7 that this, too, refers to Sukkot.

The Feast of Ingathering

From what can be learned about Sukkot from the biblical record, history, and Judaic tradition, the resurrection theme can be seen quite promenently with its last day being the one particularly marked. On the calendar, this is the twenty-first day of the first month, or, of the seventh month, depending on which annual cycle you choose for accounting. By name, the month is usually called Tishri, and it comes in the Autumn of the year. That it takes place at the close of the annual growing season speaks of its being the final harvest.

I believe that the last day of Succot is appointed to be the very day of the very last resurrection.Read John 7:37 in the NIV with some of the verses that follow.

Following this announcement made on the last day of Sukkot, observe how our Lord made similar declarations in the book of revelation. There, the Alpha and the Omega is in his glorified condition and the spirit is already given. The Spirit and the bride take up a similar note.

The observation of common themes provides a link between these two books recorded by John and received by revelation from Jesus christ. These references to the closing chapters of the final book of the Bible reveal some wonderful truths and shed light upon the end of time - and I really mean the literal end of time. If you read at least from, say, Revelation 20:7 to 21:8, you will read about what looks like the final application of the verses that refer to the last day. It is the day that marks the conclusion of the seventh thousand years, when, as the Beginning and the End said to John, "it is done." This last day is a day of both resurrection and judgment, as we have learned from the six occurences of "the last day" from the NIV. It is commonly believed that the day that follows the Feast, the eighth day solemn assembly (Shemini Atzeret) speaks of the eighth millennial day, a latter age when the seven thousand years alloted for this construct we call time in this present age has passed away and there is never again the counting of days. Thus, the last day of Sukkot, when it is antitypical and fulfilled in finality appears to be appointed as the very last day of time itself.

That Feast, Sukkot, is the third of three in the sequence of harvest feasts in the agricultural calendar cycle, the same being the three pilgrimage festivals. As the final one in the cycle of harvest feasts, it's also known as the Feast of Ingathering. This agricultural aspect of the festival is perhaps most prominent among its numerous themes. It points forward in time to the end of the age when the final harvest is brought in and that which is not to be saved is burned. The last day of sukkot bears the name "Hoshana Rabbah," meaning, "the great salvation." Hoshana Rabbah marks the great salvation and the final resurrection and judgment for mankind, the culmination of all that is appointed for this present age. This is why the grand theme of joy that underscores the festival's celebration is so very, very appropriate!

It is interesting that Sukkot is marked by the number of the Earth (4) by its tradition of the arba minim, the four species grown in the earth. During the period of our great King's reign on Earth, this is the feast that will be observed by a particular class of Gentiles. Because this Feast will not yet have been completely fulfilled, its observation is demanded until its prophetic declaration is fully manifested.

This period of time referred to in Zechariah 14 is also known as the Day of the Lord, a term that designates the seventh millennium. In the language of Zechariah chapter 14, it is called "that day." (See verses 13 and 20.) The last day of that "day" will be the very last day of continuous time as well as of certain other significant cycling time periods. On that day, the cycles coincide like rings of different sizes hanging on a nail. And so, the harvest season will close and the once prophetic holy day calendar will become entirely historical.

Yet, when our Lord said, "everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day," he certainly didn't exclude the possiblilty of there being multiple last days. In fact, there must of necessity be more than one - for there will be large numbers of people resurrected at the beginning of the millennium, each group or squadron in their turn.

Although they are not the final harvests, the other two harvest festivals are crucial preliminary harvests because each one in sequence, beginning even with the resurrection of our Lord Himself, plays a role in those that follow after. Their last days are the ones appointed for resurrection too.

Firstfruits of the Barley Harvest

The other week long festival is the firstfruits of the barley harvest, the Feast known also as Pesah or, Hag HaMatzot. The last day of this Feast is the day that is the subject of a long series of studies presented in the study called The Night of Seven Watches. The last day of this harvest festival is Abib or Nisan 21, the day appointed for the Bride theft resurrection.

Except for the single Old Testament occurrence in the KJV of Nehemiah 8, the expression under study here only appears in the Gospel of John. There is nothing trivial in the Bible, which is to say that even this fact is noteworthy. The Gospel of John has a distinct Pesah character that has been well documented over the last several years by J.R. Church.

J.R. Church's January 1997 Issue of Prophecy in the News contains an article called The Passover Prophecy. In it, he presents his view of four Passovers in John's gospel as paralleling the four cups at the Pesah seder. According to what is called the quadri paschal theory, there were four Passovers celebrated during the course of our Lord's earthly ministry. The matter of whether there were actually three or four is not at all the point. The prophetic truths presented - that's the point! The riddles presented and solved through contradictory facts speak deep prophetic truth, and each unique facet presented speaks its own true prophetic testimony. Another feature of this Gospel of John pointing to the Pesah is that it is the only one of the four that refers to Jesus as the lamb. (1:29,36) Taking these features into account, we see that"the last day" book is the Pesah Gospel. This Gospel is like a rich tapestry into which both the Pesah and "the last day" resurrection are woven. It is a fact that the gematria of "HaPesach" (the Passover) is 153. This is the number of fish harvested in John chapter twenty-one's snapshot of resurrection.

"The seventh day, according to tradition, marks the crossing of the Red Sea by the Israelites. Some people, particularly Hasidim, follow the custom of pouring water on the floor and singing and dancing to commemorate the crossing of the sea. Yizkor, the memorial prayer for the dead is recited on the last day of the festival." (p. 27 The Jewish Holidays A Guide and Commentary by Michael Strassfeld.

The crossing of the Red Sea pictures the crossing over from this life through death to new life - on the last day of the Feast.

The Yizkor recitation is appropriate too, is it not? Good-bye Death - Hello LIFE!

"Fiftieth" - The Counting of the Omer to the Firstfruits

There are few features associated with Shavuot. Primarily, it is the offering of the firstfruits of the wheat harvest. The other main feature is that the date of its observation is to be ascertained by the counting of the omer.

This is why it is referred to as the Feast or Weeks. The Feast is known as Pentecost, which means "fiftieth." This is another reference to the counting. The attention given the count brings emphasis to the fact that, indeed, Shavuot, as an appointed harvest of the "wheat" company of mankind is another fulfillment of the last day! The counting of the Omer actually causes this single day Feast to fit the model of resurrection on "the last day." In Acts 2, it is written: "when the day of Pentecost was fully come." (KJV) This makes reference to the counting of the Omer that began with the very resurrection of of our Lord Y'shua and His subsequent presentation to the Father as the firstfruits from the dead of the Barley harvest. Certainly, what began on that day will be brought to conclusion on an anniversary of the same day - according to the Lord's custom.

And so it will be that every resurrection is appointed for a last day. From the first "last day" to the "last day of last days"!

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