The Pattern of Selecting the Third in Series

There is a notable pattern in the Bible where the Lord chooses the third element in a series or set for some special purpose. The first two are passed over and the third is chosen. This pattern is found twice in the holy day calendar, and a similar pattern relates to resurrection. Here are some examples.

Of the sons of Adam and Eve: The blessing of the messianic lineage passed by Cain and Abel and came to Seth.

Of the patriarchs: The blessing of being the patriarch in whom the promise would be fulfilled where every male offspring would be of the favored race/nation passed by Abraham and Isaac and came to Jacob.

Of the tribes of Israel: The blessing of being wholly given to God among the sons of Israel passed by Reuben and Simeon and came to Levi. (Numbers 8:13-18)

Of the tribes of Israel - a second time: With Levi having been given to God and therefore removed from the numbering, the blessing of both the messianic lineage and the rulership authority over the other tribes passed by Reuben and Simeon and came to Judah, next in line after Levi.

Of the primary kings of Israel modeling the messianic King with consecutive rules of forty years each: The blessing of building the Lord's temple on earth passed by Saul and David and came to Solomon.

Of the twelve Apostles: The first among them to be martyred for the Lord was not the first disciple found nor the second (Simon Peter, Andrew his brother) but the third. (James) (Matthew 10:2-3, Acts 12:2)

Of the captains of fifty with their fifties: In II Kings 1, Ahaziah the King sent three consecutive captains of fifty with their fifties to fetch Elijah. Success passed by the first two groups but came to the third.

Of Moses' life: The life of Moses may be divided into three distinct forty year periods. The fulfilling of his ultimate destiny came not in the first two forty year periods but in the third.

The pattern is further exhibited in the following passages.

In the principle of Resurrection on the Third Day it is apparent that the first two are skipped over in order for fulfillment to come in the third. Consider such as the Acts 12 resurrection scenario, where Peter and the angel passed the first and second guards and came to the iron gate leading to the city. They passed the first two barrier units, and, when they came to the third barrier, that was where their goal was accomplished; they made the transition into the city as the iron gate opened by itself.

Twice a year, on the Lord's calendar, a special count is made to the time of a holy day. Every month begins according to the sighting of a new moon. It marks a Feast day celebrating that observation called Rosh Chodesh, meaning, "head of the month." This celestial sign signals the start of a count. In the first and seventh months marked from that sign, two weeks are counted off and then the anticipated season arrives. The feast is that third week. Now, you must realize that everything about the holy day calendar is prophetically significant. Hag HaMatzot and Sukkot are harvest feasts, signaling harvests of crops that are the Lord's people! These two exhibit the pattern of the third count.

Another instance worth noting involves Enoch.

As I show in the study, Resurrection on the Third Day, the purification ritual reveals how the seventh is also a third, the second third of a seven count. Enoch was the seventh from Adam, and, as a second third count from Adam, the Lord took him!