The Secret Resurrections of John 21

When Cometh That Thief in the Night - Directory
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I've come to love the twenty-first chapter of John! It features the colorful account of a fishing trip where the Lord directs his disciples to catch 153 large fish from the right side of the boat. The catch of fish is widely seen as a symbol of resurrection, and so it is. I had that understanding for many years before my eyes were opened to discover another resurrection symbol alongside the catch of fish. This presents a striking view of the events that are concealed and revealed in Genesis 45 and Acts 12, the Bride Theft resurrection and the trigger for that event, the turning of 144,000 sons of Israel to accept Y'shua as their Messiah.

I was able to identify this prophetic scenario with confidence because I was already familiar with many of the "code" words of the esoteric vocabulary and the secret of Romans 11:15 had just been revealed to me. If you haven't read about that, you'll find this study very helpful: What Will Their Acceptance be but Life from the Dead? I recommend taking this opportunity to read the entire 21st chapter of John because you're going to benefit if it's fresh in mind.

Ready? Let's begin!

Several of this story's elements suggest that there's a resurrection hidden in the context. The catching of fish in a net is explained as a resurrection symbol in a parable in the thirteenth chapter of Matthew.

Catching fish in a net pictures a resurrection like how a harvest of crops also does. (See The Harvest Allegory) The dragnet catches all the fish in the sea, and from this we know that the parable presents us with a picture of the last resurrection of the season, at the Feast of Ingathering. In the parable of Matthew 13 it is the angels who do the fishing, but in John 21, another interpretation is evident.

The Lord suggests the men-as-fish metaphor after a miraculous fishing trip in the fifth chapter of Luke.

In John 21, when Jesus directs the men very specifically, the symbol used is very revealing.

He directed the fishermen to cast their net on the right side of the boat, which is the side is where the righteous and worthy are found. We learn this symbolism from the 25th chapter of Matthew, where another metaphor is used.

The fish were caught from only the right side, which signifies that, at this time, it's only the righteous who are taken. The "goat" fish remain in the lake. This pictures a selective harvest or resurrection event, the first of which finds only the white-robed Bride being taken. Those left behind are given another brief season to come to full maturity - and some will!

In John's account, there are a total of seven disciples in the boat. The identities of two are unknown but five are clearly identified (in yet another example of a set of seven items being consistently divided into two and five - The Night of Seven Watches). Those who will play the primary roles in this prophetic allegory that plays alongside the fish catching are Simon Peter, as the Bride, and John, one of the sons of Zebedee, as the 144,000 sons of Israel.

Now, here's a key verse.

Have you ever wondered why none of them had recognized the Lord, or why Peter would put on his outer garment before jumping into the water? Extra clothing usually comes off before you go swimming, right? Odd behaviors often flag the presence of a hidden prophecy - and that's certainly the case here! If you've been working your way through the When Cometh That Thief in the Night studies in sequence like the chapters of a book, you've already seen an example of how the act of clothing oneself signifies the putting on of immortality. That's what Peter did in Acts 12 just before he modeled a resurrection by leaving the prison with the angel, passing through the iron gate that opened by itself, and that's what he does here.

In a demonstration of how "this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality," Simon Peter puts his outer garment on. He's going to demonstrate how "death is swallowed up in victory by first signifying his death. This is done as he throws himself into the sea. In baptism, one is immersed in water to signify the death of this body of flesh. One is brought back up out of the water to signify being raised from the dead in newness of life. (See Baptism - The Prophecy) Peter throws himself into the sea to go meet the Lord on the shore. As he emerges from the sea, it is, in type, in a glorified resurrection body as he arrives in the Lord's presence!

Isn't that a glorious revelation? What a privilege we have, whose eyes have been opened! What might be the most awesome thing about this scene is how the interaction between the Bride and the 144,000 sons of Israel is pictured, right there in verse 7 and, again, later in the chapter as the identities of those disciples in the featured roles are confirmed!

What prompted Peter to suddenly leave the others to go be with the Lord? According to John 21:7, it was his hearing that disciple whom Jesus loved say to him, "It is the Lord." The Author flags our attention in this verse, highlighting the matter of, hearing, in a familiar way. When you find the meaning of a name being demonstrated in a verse where the name is used, something of value has been concealed for our discovery. The name used in the narrative is, Simon Peter. The name, Simon, means, hearing (as also noted with regard to Simeon-hearing, and the matter of his being bound, in Genesis 42:24 - Joseph and Benjamin - Part I). Simon Peter interprets to Hearing Peter. So it is that Hearing Peter heard something that was of enormous significance when that disciple whom Jesus loved said to him, "It is the Lord." That matter has our attention, and when you see this in light of Romans 11, you understand why Peter had to leave the boat immediately to go be with the Lord!

Every resurrection event is linked to Israel and their relationship with their Messiah.

By way of the simple interaction between two disciples, John 21 presents us with a beautiful allegorical illustration of this dynamic. A resurrection is triggered every time a faction of Israel turns to accept Y'shua as their Messiah. (What Will Their Acceptance be but Life from the Dead?) "That disciple whom Jesus loved" represents a faction of Israel, and when they recognize and identify the glorified Y'shua as the Lord, well, that's it for those whose time has come for resurrection! "What will their acceptance be but life from the dead?"

Simon Peter's presence in the fishing boat on the Sea of Tiberius was conditional, you see. He could only remain there with the others until one in particular recognized and correctly identified the risen Y'shua as their own Lord. When that condition was met, Simon Peter's time was up - he had to go, putting on immortality and making his way through death to new life in the Lord's presence!

The reason why only Simon Peter went at this time was because, of all those in the boat, only he was Simon, which is to say, hearing. He represents those with a hearing ear. I believe there is a sense where the seven disciples in the boat signifies the corporate church of the body of Christ.

From out of the sevenfold church, those with a hearing ear are taken while those without hearing are left behind. This compares to the other resurrection imagery in the record, how those righteous fish from the right side of the boat are caught in the net to leave all the other fish behind in the sea.

Why is the disciple whom Jesus loved identified by this descriptive instead of simply being named? The enigmatic verses 20-24 reveal that it's none other than this gospel book's writer, John, the brother of James. Was John just being cute with us by making this cryptic reference to himself? Was he boasting about his relationship or acting humbly? You should know this account wasn't conceived in John's carnal mind. It's the word of Y'shua given through the agency of John. In type, John represents a beloved people, the Lord's own brothers after the flesh, the chosen people Israel. John is the brother of James, whose name in Hebrew is, Jacob.

Scripture records the testimony of one who is loved by God.

The apostle John represents those who are most beloved in that special season as the Bride is being received into the presence of her Bridegroom. John represents those who, at the change of the guard, so to speak, take up the mantle like Elisha did after he witnessed Elijah being taken up in a whirlwind. The name, John, means, "Jehovah is gracious giver." Certainly the Lord loved and was gracious toward his disciple, John, the brother of James, and it was given to him to model to us the Lord's beloved sons of Israel who number twelve thousand from each tribe.

These people are described in verse 4 of Revelation 14 as "the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes," and it is no coincidence that this is what the disciple whom Jesus loved is pictured doing in John 21:20. Let's jump ahead to explore this further.

This rather cryptic drama expands to reveal how John is a type of a people in the latter days.

Indeed, Jesus did not say that this disciple would not die. Historians have testified that this son of Zebedee did indeed die at an advanced age. Yet, those he foreshadows are a people who live in the time of Jesus' return, a beloved people who have been the subject of this chapter's prophetic drama! Without revelation insight into the prophetic role John plays in John 21, who could understand this riddle? This insight about how John pictures the 144,000 sons of Israel has perhaps been reserved for our very time!

Cross Referencing the "Last Supper" in John 13

Did you pick up on how the narrative provides another descriptive identifier for this disciple in addition to his being, the disciple whom Jesus loved? This one is a cross reference, functioning like a big neon arrow that directs us where to find more insight.

This points us back to the 13th chapter.

The cross reference links two passages that address the same time, people and events, which is evident only if your eyes have been opened to see what lies beyond this shadowy realm. Without having insight into these roughly parallel prophetic allegories, none of this linking really makes sense, but this link so wonderfully supports the understanding of the esoteric interpretation of both passages!

At the supper, in the exact place where John 21 directs us to discover something relevant, there's another personal interaction between Peter and the disciple we have identified as John. There is the interaction in the fishing boat when John tells Peter, "It's the Lord," and Peter responds by jumping overboard and going ashore to be with the Lord. Now, comparing to that, at the supper in the upper room, we note how Peter could easily ask the Lord his question directly, but instead (which you have to admit is rather conspicuous), he asks John to ask the Lord his question. Peter is acting strangely here and you should know the reason why, because he's acting out a prophetic drama.

The secret is in how the interactions in both accounts have to do with identification, discerning the Messianic contenders. As we already noted, John's identification of the risen Y'shua as his own Lord is the key to the unfolding drama in the fishing boat. At the supper, the initial key is John's identification of the one who would betray the Lord. The betrayer is an antichrist beast identifier. These instances of Messianic identification are directly related, with one precipitating the other. This is the reason why Peter makes John the intermediary at the supper. It has to do with Peter as the Bride, and the disciple whom Jesus loved as the 144,000, and the betrayer (Judas) as the lawless one. As Peter prompts John to ask the Lord his question, so it is that the Bride will provide a prompt for the 144k. Peter-Bride doesn't ask the Lord directly who the betrayer is because the Bride already knows. Peter must lead John to ask the Lord because the 144,000 need to learn who the betrayer really is - and they really need to get it from the Lord Himself. When 144,000 sons of Israel correctly identify the betrayer they will know that he is the counterfeit messiah. They'll see in the Bride an enviable exhibit of how their Lord is the very God of their own Fathers! John-144k will already know their God intimately, but His messianic identity as Y'shua, the one who had been pierced, will be hidden from them until the appointed time arrives.

If this story line is news to you or the dynamic is unclear, you'll find it all on exhibit in this study, The Sign for the Bride - Part 1 and When Will the Lawless One be Revealed? (The Sign for the Bride - Part 2). At some point, after absorbing what's there, another pass through this study should be very enlightening. I could let it go with that, but this is just such a big deal that it's worthy of more attention!

Additional to those two interactions we've been comparing there is a third, the mysterious one at the close of John 21 where the cross reference is found. The types are consistent, with Peter-as-Bride and John-as-144k, and there is also a contrast that provides us with another perspective for additional insight. Instead of Peter and John interacting directly with each other with regard to the Lord, Peter is interacting with the Lord with regard to John, who appears to be paying attention to that interaction.

What Jesus meant by His puzzling statements about the cryptically identified disciple is resolved in the prophetic interpretation. Jesus was clearly making a point about the time of His coming. It's not that John would not die, but that there are a beloved people who would remain until He comes, and John is the type. There is a continuity, a persisted thread of identity being implied. The prophetic drama has Peter following the Lord and John following behind them. A lesson of the earlier scene is repeated here for redundancy. When Peter was in the fishing boat and he was told by the disciple whom Jesus loved that, "It is the Lord," he threw himself into the sea, leaving the disciple whom Jesus loved behind in the fishing boat. When Peter-Bride is walking along and following the Lord, you can draw from the previous example to read between the lines and consider how that, when the time comes for his appointed engagement with John-144k, he is removed from the picture, leaving John-144k behind, who continues following the Lord. John-144k had been following Peter-Bride as he followed the Lord, then, when Peter-Bride is removed from the picture, it might be said that Peter-Bride's mantle is picked up by John-144k because he is then following the Lord directly.

The Breakfast of Bread and Fish

We skipped over much of John 21 when we jumped to the end, so let's go back to continue working our way through the account.

After Peter jumps overboard and goes ashore to be with the Lord, the others arrive in the boat to join them. The shore is a heavenly realm, and this post-Bride Theft meeting is consistent with the prophetic scenarios of Genesis 44-45 and Acts 12.

The Greek word used for the fish being grilled is, opsarion, meaning, little fish. By expanded definition the scholars note that it refers to what is to be eaten with bread, even as relish or a fish spread for the bread. With fish as men, and Y'shua as the bread of life, the bread from heaven, this grilled fish that is intended to be eaten in connection with bread has nothing to do with cannibalism but suggests rather a special kind of heavenly communion.

Some insight may be gleaned from the miraculous sign of the feeding of the five thousand, which has some notable features in common with this scene on the shore in John 21. The 5000 plus are fed fish and bread on the shore of the Sea of Galilee.

This comparison deserves more attention than we're going to give the matter here. If you're reading through, When Cometh That Thief in the Night, like chapters in a book, a study of that miraculous and prophetic feast next up, addressed at length in, The Feeding of the Five Thousand. The main point I want to make here is that it's a resurrection allegory. After feeding the 5000, John 6 presents an explanation about the bread.

You see, the meal has to do with eternal life and being raised up by Him on the last day, which is resurrection, of course! It's that way with the feeding of the 5000 plus with fish and bread on the shore and its that way with the breakfast of grilled fish and bread on the shore. The sun was dawning on a bright resurrection morn!

The scene on the shore in John 21 also speaks to me of the martyrs that John sees in heaven as the Lamb breaks the fifth seal.

As little fish for the Bread, grilling on the coals, the souls of those who had been slain were seen underneath the altar. We note that the altar on earth had burning coals.

The burning fire of the altar is linked to a harvest (a symbol like a catch of fish) in Revelation 14.

The souls of those martyred were heard at the opening of the fifth seal crying out for vengeance. They were given white robes and told to rest for a little while longer. The had to wait until the full number of their company was reached, which is implied in the text, and this might be what is pictured when the fish are numbered because some of them are requested by Jesus. Some of the large fish just caught might be presumed to be for grilling as the small fish were.

This catch of fish is by far the most widely recognized resurrection symbol in the context, with the 153 large fish that were caught from the right side of the boat representing the righteous who will be harvested from the sea of humanity. You'll find some relevant features of the number 153 in this study titled, The Numbers Seventeen and One Hundred Fifty-Three.

The next verse continues unfolding the prophetic drama.

I believe that reference is made to this meal in other places. It will be a breakfast because it will conclude a long period of fasting for Y'shua, who will not have eaten "this Passover" since the time He ate it with His disciples in the upper room.

What was said and done at the meal is widely recognized as being a model of a Jewish wedding proposal. The fulfillment of the eating of the Passover in a wedding feast appears to be in view.

The following passage is one that the Lord used to lead me into discovering the mind-boggling Bride Theft scenario in Acts 12, as I tracked the word that is therein translated, watch, finding confirmation that it would actually be in the third watch that the Bridegroom would receive His Bride.

As there were other disciples in the fishing boat who came ashore for the meal, so there will be others who attend the marriage supper or wedding feast.

Now, you may have noticed a very peculiar feature in John 21:12.

The Greek word translated, ventured, in the NASB, is the word, tolmao, which means, to have courage, to be bold. The HELPS Word-studies offers: "5111 tolmao (from tolma, "bold courage") - properly, to show daring courage necessary for a valid risk ("putting it all on the line"); courageously venture forward by putting fear behind and embracing the fruit that lies ahead for taking a necessary risk."

If the disciples knew it was the Lord, why would they need to ask and why would there be risk involved that would require boldness and courage? This oddity flags our attention as we consider the prophetic import. This is placing more emphasis on what has already been emphasized in the account, the matter of correctly identifying the Messiah. What's going on here should seem familiar if you have come to understand the prophetic allegory where the patriarch Joseph reveals himself to his brothers. There's a difference between knowing some unrecognizable Egyptian speaking man who is an authority in Egypt and knowing that the man is actually your own brother. Likewise, the disciples who are left behind when Peter throws himself into the sea know who the Lord is, but they don't know him like Peter, who was aquatinted in a personal and very intimate way. If they had, they would have been accounted as Peter-Bride and not left behind. As the record continues, we're going to see how it is implied that the Lord opens their closed eyes and their closed minds to see and know Him.

This most excellent prophetic drama continues.

When the Lord breaks bread and feeds people, it's an idiom that signifies the opening of the eyes of their understanding. Consider the following example where Jesus was recognized in the breaking of the bread.

Compare this account of Y'shua's appearance in his resurrection body with the one in John 21. In Luke 24, the Lord eats BROILED FISH before them, then talks about the fulfillment of PROPHECY and opens their minds to understand the Scriptures. He first breaks bread and as He begins to give it to them their eyes are opened. It's only then that they recognize Him for who He is. In John 21:12, the disciples are confused about their resurrected Lord's identity. In the next verse, Jesus gives them the bread, and the fish likewise. With an understanding of Luke 24 it suggests that He is opening their eyes to recognize him as their resurrected Lord Y'shua and opening their minds to understand the scriptures, to understand about prophecy and its fulfillment. Are your eyes opening to see what glorious insight is before you in this prophetic allegory that is John 21?

The next verse, as John 21 continues, emphasizes the resurrection theme by a means presented in the writing Resurrection on the Third Day. Whenever the third time something happens is mentioned in the biblical narrative, a resurrection scene in the context is being called to our attention. This particular verse is probably the most obvious example of the "third time" resurrection principle!

The subject of Y'shua's resurrection is overt, exoteric, plain, and even a central feature of the story. The code phrase, "the third time," calls out a resurrection in the context that is not overt but rather hidden in the esoteric layer where it may only be seen with the opened eyes and with minds that understand the prophecy and its fulfillment. It's about the catch of fish from the right side of the boat, and alongside that, about Simon Peter throwing himself into the sea to go join His resurrected Lord on the dry land!

The Hidden Time Element

In the 21st chapter of John, the fishing boat's distance from shore is specified - and not for no reason! Something about when the resurrection event happens is concealed and revealed thereby!

When translators don't mask the text by converting the measurement, the distance is accurately rendered as, "about two hundred cubits." The metaphor of water as time is used throughout the Bible, as in other esoteric literature. Whenever you read in the Gospels and find some disciples in a boat on the body of water known variously as the Sea of Tiberias or Galilee, it's a symbol of a group of people the Lord is dealing with during the "night watches." Here's one example.

You do understand about the watches of the night, right? That prophetic scenario is about what happens during the 4th year of the prime Shemitah.

Here's an example where the relative time is revealed by how far the boat is from shore.

The text more correctly gives the distance rowed as, "twenty-five or thirty furlongs," or stadia. This is about halfway across the lake, speaking to me of the time when it's about halfway into the seven year period - possibly in the fourth year. There may also be a level of interpretation where a stadia equates to a month, signifying twenty-five or thirty months into the Shemitah, which is in the 3rd year and a span that comes right up to when the Bride Theft is anticipated.

In John 21, Peter threw himself into the sea when the boat was about two hundred cubits from shore. The Bride Theft and sealing of 144,000 sons of Israel is appointed after two years of the seven, as indicated in the rich prophetic allegories of Genesis 45 and Acts 12. As we read in Luke 12:38, "Whether he comes in the second watch, or even in the third..." I see agreement in the positioning of the boat, "about two hundred cubits" from shore.

The Love Test - Commissionings and Implied Resurrection

In the verses that follow verse 14, a love test is administered to Peter.

This is a very cryptic passage that appears to have several levels of interpretation. It's widely accepted that this cryptic quiz was fulfilled when the apostle Peter died. Many interpreters connect the three rounds of the love quiz with the three rounds of Peter's denial in the season between Gethsemane and Calvary. It's seen as the Lord's provision of a means of redemption, on account of his denials. By this stage of our consideration of John 21, we have learned enough about the esoteric context to recognize the above passage as a prophecy. I believe that what we read in the narrative did apply to the Apostle Peter's life and death (He was martyred, being crucified as His Lord was crucified but rather upside-down, at his request, as the historians tell it, because Peter didn't deem himself worthy of dying in the same way that the Lord did.), and yet, it also applies to a people he represents in type.

When we read the phrase in verse 17, "the third time," we really must acknowledge that this same code phrase that is used in verse 14 has the same signification here, where it appears twice in one verse. It alerts us to a resurrection in the context. Is there another one that is additional to the instance that's so obviously connected with verse 14? While I can't identify how one might be acted out in the most localized context, resurrection does seem to be implied in a more subtle way, a way that reveals another interpretation of the cryptic love quiz.

About that piercing conversation the Lord is having with Peter, the narrative calls attention to what kind of death he would glorify God, which is a cryptic explanation. If we take that as a clue, with the highlighting of how God is glorified in the way a life is lived at its ending, we see the focus here is on a higher perspective, even what lies beyond death. For the martyr (as for us all), death isn't really the end. Reward comes in the next life, as glory the Lord shares that is wrought through the suffering and loss endured for His sake.

The key is in the resurrection. The esoteric context of the puzzling Q and A of John 21:14-19 is all about resurrection and the time when Y'shua comes (verses 22-23). In the love quiz, I see Peter as the church, extending through the entire age, and, very particularly, in the last days as each of the three divisions in sequence. Here's a central concept, the harvest allegory. The harvest of the church happens as the Lord's people are taken out of His harvest field in three stages. The first harvest selectively involves only those who are ripe, so to speak, leaving the rest behind. The second likewise. Finally, the remainder are harvested. The Barley Bride, dead and living, are appointed for harvesting at Hag ha-Matzot. The Wheat Virgins, dead and living, are appointed for harvest about 7 weeks later at Shavuot, or, Hag ha-Katsir, the Festival of Reaping. Years later, the Grape and final crops, dead and living, are harvested at Hag ha-Asif, the Feast of Ingathering. With the three rounds of the love quiz corresponding to these seasons of harvest, resurrection is implicit. It seems to me that this is what the resurrection signaling code phrase in the context is calling to our attention. One of the revelation insights I've had over the years involves this model as it was demonstrated in the garden of Gethsemane, in that charged emotional situation when Y'shua went to pray about the cup being removed from him. He separated the company into three divisions. The insight I received about those divisions was about the dividings of the church through selective resurrection. (See The Testimony of Gethsemane - Part 1 (The Mount of Olives))

When the Lord addresses Simon Peter as Simon, son of John, and asks him if he loves Him, He gives him direction. In Genesis 45, at the time of the Bride Theft, the Bride and 144,000 sons of Israel are likewise given a mission. In Acts 12, immediately after the Bride Theft is signaled, Peter-Bride commissions those friends who had assembled in (the new) Jerusalem. In John 21, more layered prophetic allegory presents the Bride Theft, and following that, Peter is commissioned, with John following along. It's consistent. The three phase love quiz and giving of commands about caring for the Lord's people speaks to me about the times of the resurrections and how the Lord subsequently deals with his people.

Here is a table showing some differences and similarities in the wording of the questions and commands.

In earlier editions I went into some deeper explorations based on the differences in the meanings of the words. That doesn't seem necessary in this season's edition.

I close this lengthy study with the last verse of John 21. There's probably much, much more still here to be discovered.