Resurrection on the Third Day

The number three signifies resurrection. While it may be immediately apparent that our Lord Jesus Christ - Y'shua HaMashiach was raised from the dead on the third day, I suspect you will be as surprised as I had been to learn just how thoroughly the number three is associated with resurrection! The connection is so prominent in the Bible I can hardly believe it has been so overlooked! This feature is a testament to the Lord's wondrous ability to conceal and then reveal. As I began to investigate this phenomenon after seeing the first glimmer of the vast truth of it, it seemed like I was pulling a thread and watching the prophetic fabric of the scriptures unravel. I gained insight into many prophetic scenarios that had previously been hidden from my view. In some of these newly discovered cryptic scenarios, I found symbols I had learned in other studies, further validating their authenticity. In all I learned additional prophetic symbols, extending my vocabulary of code words, if you will. The consistency in application of this prophetic vocabulary affirms its function as a decryption key, a valuable means of deciphering the messages intended for our learning.

16 Three times in a year all your males shall appear before the LORD your God in the place which He chooses, at the Feast of Unleavened Bread and at the Feast of Weeks and at the Feast of Booths, and they shall not appear before the LORD empty-handed. 17 Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the LORD your God which He has given you.

Deuteronomy 16:16-17

There are three in number and they are the resurrection feasts. If you understand the harvest allegory (see The Harvest Allegory) you know this to be true. There are not seven, but three. I would like to make a point about the accompanying feature from Deuteronomy as it relates to our personal accountability. This feature not only highlights what I'm telling you about the fact that these feasts are indeed the resurrection events but also brings to focus the sobering truth of judgement. Appearing empty handed at a feast symbolically represents being resurrected to life without have earned reward commensurate with the blessing one had received in this life. Consider the following two examples.

For to everyone who has, more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away.

Matthew 5:29

From everyone who has been given much, much will be required; and to whom they entrusted much, of him they will ask all the more.

Luke 12:48b

The Master who is the Lord Himself will return and His servants will each give account of the gifts they bring. Matthew 25's parable of the talents and Luke 12's similar parable of how the master treats His slaves at His return should speak loudly to us as we read the context of these golden scriptures. How are you and I doing with what we've been given, friend?


In this study you will discover that in most places, and, perhaps even all cases, a reference to the third day or to a third occurrence in a series exposes the theme of resurrection that exists on or below the surface of the text. An awareness of this link between resurrection and the number three is essential to understanding much of the revelation of the end times.

To begin, consider the following features.

Such as these are the rule. Consider the following examples.

Then he stretched himself out on the boy three times and cried to the Lord, "O Lord my God, let this boy's life return to him!"

1 Kings 17:21

9 Seated in a window was a young man named Eutychus, who was sinking into a deep sleep as Paul talked on and on. When he was sound asleep, he fell to the ground from the third story and was picked up dead. 10 Paul went down, threw himself on the young man and put his arms around him. "Don't be alarmed," he said. "He's alive!"

Acts 20:9-10

Of course, the Lord could have had Elijah raise the widow's son without any repetition or mention of a number, but what is recorded is true and the wise receive its instruction. I make the same point about Eutychus' fall from the third story to his death and subsequent resurrection.

The Third Day of the Week

It seems appropriate to clarify from the outset what is meant by the word "day." Depending upon the context it can refer to a literal 24 hour day, and, figuratively, to a year, or even to a period of a thousand years. (Psalm 90:4, 2 Peter 3:8) The phrase "third day" thus has a variety of meanings. One or more of the following may apply.

These specific units of time usually relate to the seven unit cycle we call a week.

Third Day Resurrection Scenarios

Every resurrection from the dead rests upon the resurrection of our Lord as its foundation, for without his victory over death no other could be rescued from its grasp. He established the pattern for every resurrection - including His rising on the third day. For this reason, I begin the body of this study with references to our Lord's resurrection on the third day.

18 We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death 19 and will turn him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified. On the third day he will be raised to life!

Matthew 20:18-19

For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

Matthew 12:40

40 but God raised him from the dead on the third day and caused him to be seen. 41 He was not seen by all the people, but by witnesses whom God had already chosen--by us who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead.

Acts 10:40-41

39 We are witnesses of everything he did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They killed him by hanging him on a tree, 40 but God raised him from the dead on the third day and caused him to be seen.

Acts 10:39-40

3 For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance : that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,

1 Corinthians 15:3-4

And he said, "The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life."

Luke 9:22

Those passages were familiar, were they not? Now, let's consider a verse whose interpretation is understood by many to mean a day represents a thousand years. The resurrection theme should be obvious.

After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will restore us, that we may live in his presence.

Hosea 6:2

On the third day there will be a reviving - to life - resurrection! Most understand this third day is the seventh millennium. I will address this dual accounting of the third and seventh days later in this study.

In the following passage consider it first as it applied to our Lord himself and, then, in light of the end time symbolism present.

31 At that time some Pharisees came to Jesus and said to him, "Leave this place and go somewhere else. Herod wants to kill you." 32 He replied, "Go tell that fox, 'I will drive out demons and heal people today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will reach my goal.' 33 In any case, I must keep going today and tomorrow and the next day - for surely no prophet can die outside Jerusalem! 34 "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! 35 Look, your house is left to you desolate. I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, 'Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.'"

Luke 13:31-35

The Lord follows up His statement about the third day by directing us to the last days when the religious leaders of the Jews would see him again. The kind of day that He must have been talking about is a millennial day, accounted as beginning from that present time early in the fifth day of the millennial week. That day on which He reaches his goal is a resurrection day. Resurrection and what it will accomplish is His goal, and it is only by resurrection that they will see Him again. I have good news, folks! The first two days are now past and the third is upon us! As in Acts 12, Herod is a symbol of the lawless one. (This figure is referred to as a fox, so you can add this to your vocabulary of code words that refer to the lawless one.) This passage in Luke 13 is an example of the usage of "the third day" as a reference to the seventh year of the Watches in the Night. This particular end time scenario will be played out in the seventh year because by the beginning of this particular count to the third day, the fox will have already made his appearance. Note that during the first two years of this count (years five and six of the seven), "Herod" is trying to kill those following Y'shua. At that time, the activity taking place is the driving out of demons and healing people. See Revelation 13 for more insight. What a wonderful ministry to those suffering during that season of great tribulation!

* mountain-as-kingdom...

Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver and the gold were broken to pieces at the same time and became like chaff on a threshing floor in the summer. The wind swept them away without leaving a trace. But the rock that struck the statue became a huge mountain and filled the whole earth.

Daniel 2:35


* resurrection announcement...

For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.

1 Thessalonians 4:16

After this I looked, and there before me was a door standing open in heaven. And the voice I had first heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, "Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this."

Revelation 4:1

In a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.

1 Corinthians 15:52


The Moses Consecration

In the following third day scenario, the resurrection theme can be noted in various ways. Perhaps most obviously, the people are led out of the camp (temporary earthly encampment) to meet with God by Moses, a type of Y'shua as the deliverer whose name means, "drawing out." A mountain symbolizes a kingdom. (* side bar) The mount Sinai represents the eternal heavenly kingdom. The blowing of the trumpet is a vivid symbol of a resurrection announcement. (* side bar) Notice that the people who will be ready to go to meet with God on the third day are told how to be prepared.

  1. Consecration by Moses
  2. Clean garments
  3. Not going near a woman

I'm going to expand upon the symbols here, symbols of wonderful truths provided for your salvation and mine!

10 The Lord also said to Moses, ''Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their garments; 11 and let them be ready for the third day, for on the third day the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people.

Exodus 19:10-11

14 So Moses went down from the mountain to the people and consecrated the people, and they washed their garments. 15 He said to the people, ''Be ready for the third day; do not go near a woman.'' 16 So it came about on the third day, when it was morning, that there were thunder and lightning flashes and a thick cloud upon the mountain and a very loud trumpet sound, so that all the people who were in the camp trembled. 17 and Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain.

Exodus 19:14-17

This is the requirement model. To be consecrated by Moses is to be set apart as sacred by the work of Y'shua and those He appoints the task. In the prophetic application today, Moses is pictured in Luke 12:42-44 as "the faithful and sensible steward, whom his master will put in charge of his servants to give them their rations at the proper time." The consecration of the people is being done after the pattern of Moses where those who have received the message then go "down from the mountain to the people." The ministration of consecration is the washing of water by the Word that is the subject of the great mystery presented in Ephesians 5.

25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, 26 so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27 that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless.

Ephesians 5:25-27

This cleansing process is the first requirement for a holy and blameless Bride to be in a state of readiness for the third day. Earlier, I had separated the requirements into three but they are really one. The clean garment is the result of the consecration. It is symbolic of a state of righteousness - of readiness for being joined with the Bridegroom.

7 "Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready." 8 It was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.

Revelation 19:7-8

A similar symbol is pictured in Revelation 7:14 as white robe.

To go near a woman in such a way that it prevents a "clean garment" status has a spiritual application that extends beyond the physical. A woman is a symbol of a church. Such a woman that would cause the saint being consecrated to become unrighteous is the topic of Revelation 18, who is a harlot Babylon church. You see, if there is a washing of water with the word that makes the Bride spotless, holy and blameless there is also a washing of impure water with the corrupted word that causes contamination. This pertains to both doctrine and practice. There is a matter of deception that is paramount when it comes to the state of readiness for the third day. Of the Harlot church, Revelation 18:23 reveals that "all the nations were deceived by your sorcery". It may be rightly inferred from Matthew 24:24 that all but the chosen, the elect, will absolutely be deceived. Consecration is a setting apart for the Lord in holiness, and this means that those consecrated are set apart from among those in the Babylon church. "Come out from her, my people" is the call of Revelation 18:4.

I heard another voice from heaven, saying, "Come out of her, my people, so that you will not participate in her sins and receive of her plagues;

Revelation 18:4

In a similar fashion, it is the woman church Babylon that is referred to regarding the 144k of Israel in Revelation 14.

4 These are the ones who have not been defiled with women, for they have kept themselves chaste. These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. These have been purchased from among men as first fruits to God and to the Lamb. 5 And no lie was found in their mouth; they are blameless.

Revelation 14:4-5

For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality.

1 Corinthians 15:53

Then the angel said to him, "Put on your clothes and sandals." And Peter did so. "Wrap your cloak around you and follow me," the angel told him.

Acts 12:8

Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, "It is the Lord!" As soon as Simon Peter heard him say, "It is the Lord," he wrapped his outer garment around him (for he had taken it off) and jumped into the water.

John 21:7


The wedding at Cana on the third day pictures a third day resurrection where a Bridegroom and a Bride are joined!

On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus' mother was there

John 2:1

And too, Mary, His mother will be there! Glory!

This next third day scenario pictures Esther as the royal bride, coming into the King's presence. This is a prophetic snapshot of The Royal Bride of Christ coming into the Bridegroom King's presence at the Bride Theft resurrection! (* side bar)

On the third day Esther put on her royal robes and stood in the inner court of the palace, in front of the king's hall. The king was sitting on his royal throne in the hall, facing the entrance.

Esther 5:1

In the following scenario, the resurrection theme is displayed like as in the Iron Gate scenario by their release from prison. The prison is the bondage of this present world, being in a body of flesh and therein bound by the law of sin and death. Resurrection is seen in the words, "you will live" and that release from prison does take place on the third day! These words were spoken by Joseph, a type of Y'shua who was sent to provide the salvation for his people that is evidenced in resurrection.

16 Send one of your number to get your brother; the rest of you will be kept in prison, so that your words may be tested to see if you are telling the truth. If you are not, then as surely as Pharaoh lives, you are spies!" 17 And he put them all in custody for three days. 18 On the third day, Joseph said to them, "Do this and you will live, for I fear God: 19 If you are honest men, let one of your brothers stay here in prison, while the rest of you go and take grain back for your starving households. 20 But you must bring your youngest brother to me, so that your words may be verified and that you may not die.

Genesis 42:16-20

People will come from east and west and north and south, and will take their places at the feast in the kingdom of God.

Luke 13:29

Also - Luke 14:14-24

Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let's have a feast and celebrate. 24 For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.' So they began to celebrate.

Luke 15:23-24


Next, the resurrection theme is seen in connection with the feast for all Pharaoh's officials. (* side bar)

20 Now the third day was Pharaoh's birthday, and he gave a feast for all his officials. (Hebrew: ebed - "servants") He lifted up the heads of the chief cupbearer and the chief baker in the presence of his officials: 21 He restored the chief cupbearer to his position, so that he once again put the cup into Pharaoh's hand, 22 but he hanged the chief baker, just as Joseph had said to them in his interpretation.

Genesis 40:20-22

It is no secret that a feast or banquet accompanies a resurrection, and so does judgment. The execution of judicial decisions is seen here as one man is restored and the other is hanged. Resurrection is further pictured in the cupbearer's and chief baker's release from prison.

In the following third day scenario, the resurrection is in view as Hezekiah receives the promise that, on the third day, he will go up to the house of the Lord.

The application of the cake of figs to his boil speaks the humbling of the Jewish people and their acceptance of Y'shua haMashiach. This, according to Romans 11:15, is what precipitates a resurrection. This cake is a poultice of pressed, or, crushed figs. The fig is a symbol of the people of Israel, the crushing of which represents the breaking of their rebellious nature. The number 15 that appears in the account in the matter of the extension of Hezekiah's life is the number that signifies rest - complete rest. The complete rest is the sum of the Sabbath rest (the number 7) and the Shemini Atzeret type eternal rest (the number 8) (7+8=15) This, of course, speaks of some of the people typified in Hezekiah entering into the promised rest, that rest which is the subject of Hebrews 4.

It still remains that some will enter that rest, and those who formerly had the gospel preached to them did not go in, because of their disobedience.

Hebrews 4:6


4 And it came about before Isaiah had gone out of the middle court, that the word of the Lord came to him, saying, 5 "Return and say to Hezekiah the leader of My people, 'Thus says the Lord, the God of your father David, "I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; behold, I will heal you. On the third day you shall go up to the house of the Lord. 6 "And I will add fifteen years to your life, and I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria; and I will defend this city for My own sake and for My servant David's sake." 7 Then Isaiah said, "Take a cake of figs." And they took and laid it on the boil, and he recovered.

II Kings 20:4-7

Hezekiah's healing compares to the healing that is the subject of Hosea 6:1-2. The healing of the corrupt flesh nature comes by means of resurrection!

The occasion for a resurrection can be seen in the remedy for Hezekiah's near-fatal affliction. (* side bar)

It's worth noting a couple other items in the context that relate to the times of resurrection in the last days: Babylon - Revelation 17-18, etc., and, "Peace and security" - I Thessalonians 5:3.

16 Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, "Hear the word of the Lord: 17 The time will surely come when everything in your palace, and all that your fathers have stored up until this day, will be carried off to Babylon. Nothing will be left, says the Lord. 18 And some of your descendants, your own flesh and blood, that will be born to you, will be taken away, and they will become eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon." 19 "The word of the Lord you have spoken is good," Hezekiah replied. For he thought, "Will there not be peace and security in my lifetime?"

II kings 20:16-19

In the following scenario, Abraham's looking up and seeing the place in the distance signifies his view of a distant future resurrection.

On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance.

Genesis 22:4

Here, the place in the distance he saw when he looked up was where he would almost sacrifice his son, and the very place Y'shua would be sacrificed. He understood and believed in Y'shua's resurrection, having read it in the celestial account's narrative according to Genesis 15. In Genesis 18:2 he looked up into the spiritual realm and saw three (another occurrence of the resurrection number) angels. In Genesis 22:13, Abraham again looked up and saw into the spiritual realm. The ram in a thicket caught by its horns represented the lamb of God, Y'shua, the ultimate burnt offering.


Abraham himself is associated directly with resurrection in numerous passages in the gospels, one of which is Luke 16:19-31, the story of the rich man and Lazarus the beggar. The mention of his looking up occurs here and in two other places in the Bible, the total of three being the resurrection number. As with this mention, the others reveal a view of what lay beyond the lifting veil in the spiritual realm. (* side bar)

The crossing of the Jordan pictures baptism and is a resurrection scenario similar to the crossing of the Red Sea at the Exodus. Again, the three days marks it for our attention.

10 So Joshua ordered the officers of the people: 11 "Go through the camp and tell the people, 'Get your supplies ready. Three days from now you will cross the Jordan here to go in and take possession of the land the LORD your God is giving you for your own.'

Joshua 1:10-11

Jonah!

Consider some very dramatic testimony about three as a resurrection number from the book of Jonah. This first example was referenced by Y'shua as being a pattern for his death, burial and resurrection, as The Sign of Jonah.

And the LORD appointed a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the stomach of the fish three days and three nights.

Jonah 1:17

This is an excerpt from Jonah's prophetic prayer while inside the belly/grave describing death and resurrection

To the cuttings of mountains I have come down, The earth, her bars [are] behind me to the age. And Thou bringest up from the pit my life, O Jehovah my God.

Jonah 2:6 (Young's Literal Translation)

Now, here is the coming out of the grave in resurrection at the conclusion of the three days and three nights, with the very common resurrection reference to the dry ground.

And the LORD commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.

Jonah 2:10

After Jonah had been through that experience, he obeyed the Lord's command to go to Nineveh and declare judgment. The reference to three days is here associated with the city of Nineveh.

So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh according to the word of the LORD. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, a three days' walk.

Jonah 3:3

Indeed, Jonah arose! Resurrection! But, notice, again, that the three days is connected to the city of Nineveh. There is in this an amazing reference to resurrection! Jonah's proclamation to the city, "Yet forty days and Nineveh will be overthrown" was not only a message of impending destruction, but also of resurrection! Occasions of judgment, as I wrote earlier about what happened on Pharaoh's birthday, are accompanied by a resurrection. The Nineveh judgment relates to the judgment on the church and the corresponding resurrection known as The Bride Theft.



Resurrection - skip: 187
Spanning Jonah 2:5 - 3:9 - intersecting 3:3
The other word you see marked out is a Hebrew word (chaim) meaning "life."

Now, I want to point out a notable feature from the book of Jonah. Both of the verses in Jonah that reference three days are numbered in a way that adds special emphasis to this message. They both exhibit what I call nested thirds, a doubled application of thirds. (See The Numbers Seventeen and One Hundred Fifty-Three) Consider the image showing three weeks of days. I've highlighted the third week, and within that third week I've highlighted the third day, so I've doubled the application by selecting the third of a series, twice. The count of that nested third is 17. If you scroll up to see the first reference to three days you will see it is Jonah 1:17, the seventeenth verse of the book of Jonah! Isn't that amazing! The Author does not want us to miss this lesson, and the deeper prophetic meaning of the messages about resurrection from the book of Jonah! In the "doubled third" numbering of the verse together with the three days it references we have a threefold identification! In the other verse referencing three days we have another threefold identification! The "three days' walk" is recorded in the third chapter and in the third verse! Simply amazing!

Yet another feature is the fact there are in total three occurrences of the word "three" in the book; two in Jonah 1:17 and one in Jonah 3:3. Amazing! Jonah is a resurrection prophet!

As a matter of curiosity, I played with my ELS code application and found Jonah 3:3 has another very interesting feature. The book of Jonah has two occurrences of a particular Hebrew word for resurrection, both with a yod landing in Jonah 3:3, so they "land on" and intersect in that verse to mark it with a kind of "X marks the spot." The two images show these occurrences with a green outline indicating Jonah 3:3.



Resurrection - skip: 455
Spanning Jonah 4:8 - 1:10 - intersecting 3:3

Other Thirds in Series

In the third year, Elijah, the one who was taken up in a whirlwind by the Lord, is told to go and present himself to Ahab, a type of the lawless one who plays a major role in the time of resurrection. The resurrection is pictured in the sending of rain on the land. Rain on the land after a draught causes new life to spring up. This chapter (which contains two other references to thirds) is addressed at length in the study called Elijah's God Answers by Fire.

After a long time, in the third year, the word of the Lord came to Elijah: "Go and present yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain on the land."

1 Kings 18:1

In the context of Deuteronomy 26, the third year is known as the year of the tithe.

When you have finished setting aside a tenth of all your produce in the third year, the year of the tithe...

Deuteronomy 26:12a

In harvest symbolism, the produce of the land represents God's people. This resurrection type depicts the receiving of the firstfruits of the harvest of God's people in the third year.

Many things happen three times or more in the Bible. The third in a series signals a resurrection theme. Earlier I gave the examples of the widow's son raised when Elijah stretched himself over the boy three times, and, when Eutychus fell three stories to his death before Paul stretched himself on him and he came to life. Here are some more examples.

For the third time he spoke to them: "Why? What crime has this man committed? I have found in him no grounds for the death penalty. Therefore I will have him punished and then release him."

Luke 23:22

Speaking of releasing him from the death penalty, what is that, really, but a reference to resurrection? And of course, Y'shua had to be released; as it is written:

But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.

Acts 2:24

The following needs little commentary, especially if you're familiar with the prophetic subject of the whole of this remarkable twenty-first chapter of John.

This was now the third time Jesus appeared to his disciples after he was raised from the dead.

John 21:14

In the remarkable scenario of Peter's vision of the Gentile era in Acts 10, the resurrection is evidenced as the large sheet containing the previously unclean animals representing the largely Gentile church was pulled up to heaven the third time. Note also that the number of men sent to Peter is the resurrection number. Many additional trios are mentioned in the study called Peter's Vision of the Gentile Age

5 I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision. I saw something like a large sheet being let down from heaven by its four corners, and it came down to where I was. 6 I looked into it and saw four-footed animals of the earth, wild beasts, reptiles, and birds of the air. 7 Then I heard a voice telling me, 'Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.' 8 "I replied, 'Surely not, Lord! Nothing impure or unclean has ever entered my mouth.' 9 "The voice spoke from heaven a second time, 'Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.' 10 This happened three times, and then it was all pulled up to heaven again. 11 "Right then three men who had been sent to me from Caesarea stopped at the house where I was staying.

Acts 11:5-11

The Third Verses of the Thirteenth Chapters of Revelation and John

There is a baptism coming that is after the pattern of the genuine baptism of Y'shua the genuine Mashiach, but it will be a counterfeit. Baptism is a death and resurrection symbol (See Baptism - The Prophecy and The Sign for the Bride - Part 1) In the following passage of scripture, we see a view of this counterfeit baptism in verse one as the beast is seen coming up out of the sea, and, in keeping with the theme of this study we find the more direct reference to the resurrection implicit in baptism in the third verse!

1 And the dragon stood on the sand of the seashore. Then I saw a beast coming up out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads, and on his horns were ten diadems, and on his heads were blasphemous names. 2 And the beast which I saw was like a leopard, and his feet were like those of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion And the dragon gave him his power and his throne and great authority. 3) I saw one of his heads as if it had been slain, and his fatal wound was healed And the whole earth was amazed and followed after the beast;

Revelation 13:1-3

The whole earth was amazed and followed after the beast because this event that is also a sign to the world and worldly will come forth in an exhibition of supernatural power. It won't be a genuine resurrection event, as we see the head appointed for this aspect of the sign is seen "as if it had been slain," which is to say it was not actually slain and therefore in reality dead. The event is a faking and masquerading, yes, accompanied by signs and wonders, but lying signs and wonders, plenty convincing enough for most folks to take the flashy bait and swallow the barbed hook.

The companion chapter to Revelation 13 exhibits a similar phenomenon in the third verse. John 13 shows the last supper with a central theme being the revealing of Judas as the betrayer. This is a vivid and electrifying prophetic scenario detailing the revealing of the lawless one. This is exactly what is pictured above in the "sister" chapter Revelation 13 as the beast coming out of the sea. Both books are attributed to John "the Revelator," as given by the Lord Y'shua.


Verse # John 13 Revelation 13 Points of Comparison
One Now before the Feast of the Passover, Jesus knowing that His hour had come that He would depart out of this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end. And the dragon stood on the sand of the seashore. Then I saw a beast coming up out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads, and on his horns were ten diadems, and on his heads were blasphemous names. The Father vs. the dragon. Jesus departing the world - the end in sight vs. the beast coming - the beginning in sight. Baptism, death and resurrection activity. Love vs. offensive, grotesque and monstrous attributes.
Two During supper, the devil having already put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, to betray Him, And the beast which I saw was like a leopard, and his feet were like those of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion And the dragon gave him his power and his throne and great authority. The devil equipping Judas vs the dragon equipping the beast. The heart vs. the feet and mouth. During supper vs. beasts that devour men as prey.
Three Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come forth from God and was going back to God, I saw one of his heads as if it had been slain, and his fatal wound was healed And the whole earth was amazed and followed after the beast; Resurrection! Genuine vs. Fake
Four got up from supper, and laid aside His garments; and taking a towel, He girded Himself. they worshiped the dragon because he gave his authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, "Who is like the beast, and who is able to wage war with him?" Action of those with authority from the true God, vs. counterfeit. Y'shua, serving, humbling self as least among servants vs. the fake, served, exalted and worshiped

The Seventh Day is a Third Day

There are two different points for beginning the count of weekdays. The obvious place to start is at the very beginning of a week, but yet we find many of the passages that refer to the third day indicate that the third is also the seventh day. Thus, a second point at which to begin counting must be acknowledged. This other starting point is at the division between the fourth and fifth days. In this alternate perspective, the seventh day is truly another third day. This overlapping count feature is similar to how the first day and the eighth day (weekly cycle) and the first and forty-ninth or fiftieth days (Yobel) are considered as one and the same.

I will show that by example shortly, but to establish the validity of the second start point I will point out something quite remarkable. If you consider where the second starting point fell in the millennial week you will see the significance of this remarkable model, as the history of the world pivots about that very point! At the very close of the fourth millennium from the first man Adam, another Adam appeared; Y'shua. It is from the appearance of this latter Adam (1 Corinthians 15:45-47) that the count of days began anew. Our Gregorian calendar acknowledges that very time in history as its focal point, pivoting about it by counting forward from it with the notation A. D. (Anno domini - In the year of the Lord) and backwards from it with the notation B.C.! (Before Christ) Yes - truly, there are two points from which to begin counting in a week!

This second starting point is identified as the 4/3 split in the study: The Threefold Model of great Sevens.

The Purification Ritual

I'd like to show you how the third and the seventh days are very specially bound together in the context of resurrection. A close look at the purification ritual will afford us some rare insight.

11 Whoever touches the dead body of anyone will be unclean for seven days. 12 He must purify himself with the water on the third day and on the seventh day; then he will be clean. But if he does not purify himself on the third and seventh days, he will not be clean. 13 Whoever touches the dead body of anyone and fails to purify himself defiles the Lord's tabernacle. That person must be cut off from Israel. Because the water of cleansing has not been sprinkled on him, he is unclean; his uncleanness remains on him.

Numbers 19:11-13

The man who is clean is to sprinkle the unclean person on the third and seventh days, and on the seventh day he is to purify him. The person being cleansed must wash his clothes and bathe with water, and that evening he will be clean.

Numbers 19:19

The above mentioned purifying water is a symbol of resurrection. Since the problem has to do with dead bodies, the purification ritual's "resurrection" solution makes a lot of sense! This water was actually mixed with special ashes, made in accordance with the following verse. Each of the seven items distinctly listed as being burned are shadows of The One who was the ultimate burnt sacrifice, sacrificed to cleanse us wholly.

While he watches, the heifer is to be burned--its hide, flesh, blood and offal. 6 The priest is to take some cedar wood, hyssop and scarlet wool and throw them onto the burning heifer.

Numbers 19:5-6

Ashes are what remains after something has been entirely burned, and, like dust, represent the sum and substance of the flesh. Consider the following verses in this regard. (See also Jeremiah 17:13 and John 4:10)

The Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.

Genesis 2:7

Then Abraham spoke up again: 'Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, though I am nothing but dust and ashes,'

Genesis 18:27

6 The Lord brings death and makes alive; he brings down to the grave and raises up. 7 The Lord sends poverty and wealth; he humbles and he exalts. 8 He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap; he seats them with princes and has them inherit a throne of honor.

I Samuel 2:6-8a

As a general symbol then, ashes represent the humble status of the flesh, wherein dwells no "real" life. The ashes require water as a symbol of resurrection just as the dry bones of Israel in Ezekiel 37 require "breath" ("ruwach") to come to life. The addition of fresh water to the ashes of the burnt sacrifice is a symbol of the resurrection of Y'shua.

For the unclean person, put some ashes from the burned purification offering into a jar and pour fresh water over them.

Numbers 19:17

This is the "water" that must be applied to others, serving to identify them with Y'shua in his death and resurrection - a matter very similar to baptism.

Now, make note that this symbolic resurrection ritual must be done for the unclean person on both the third and seventh days. So, in this purification ritual we have a clear correlation between resurrection and the third and seventh days!

But, there's another interesting link I'd like to present in the specific context of the famine week. There is an allusion to the purification ritual found in Haggai 2. In the following passage, notice that the priests' knowledge about the matter of contact with a dead body is tested. This refers them back to Numbers 19 and the purification ritual.

10 On the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, in the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to the prophet Haggai: 11 "This is what the Lord Almighty says: 'Ask the priests what the law says: 12 if a person carries consecrated meat in the fold of his garment, and that fold touches some bread or stew, some wine, oil or other food, does it become consecrated?'" The priests answered, "No." 13 Then Haggai said, "If a person defiled by contact with a dead body touches one of these things, does it become defiled?" "Yes," the priests replied, "it becomes defiled." 14 Then Haggai said, "'So it is with this people and this nation in my sight,' declares the Lord. 'Whatever they do and whatever they offer there is defiled. 15 "'Now give careful thought to this from this day on --consider how things were before one stone was laid on another in the Lord's temple. 16 When anyone came to a heap of twenty measures, there were only ten. When anyone went to a wine vat to draw fifty measures, there were only twenty. 17 I struck all the work of your hands with blight, mildew and hail, yet you did not turn to me,' declares the Lord. 18 'From this day on, from this twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, give careful thought to the day when the foundation of the Lord's temple was laid. Give careful thought: 19 Is there yet any seed left in the barn? Until now, the vine and the fig tree, the pomegranate and the olive tree have not borne fruit. "'From this day on I will bless you.'"

Haggai 2:10-19

The one doomed to destruc-tion is the ultimate dead body, in whose temple they will have been offering sacrifice. Aside from that, the people them-selves are defiled because they are dead bodies, lacking the spiritual life that is eternal.


Haggai's prophecies pertain to the period immediately following The Bride Theft in the third day of the Night Watches week. The problems with Israel's defiled sacrifice will be brought to the Priests' attention. Reference to the matter of contact with a dead body directs them automatically to the Torah's solution to the problem, which is the purification ritual in Numbers 19. When they consider the solution for the dead (* side bar) problem at the "sod" level of rabbinic interpretation (the level of types and symbols) the priests will be confronted with the resurrection of Y'shua. On the basis of this recognition, those of Israel symbolized by the fig tree, pomegranate and the olive tree will begin to bear fruit where they had previously suffered loss from blight, mildew and hail. Notice how emphatically the priests are directed to consider the day when the foundation of the Lord's temple was laid in verse 18: "give careful thought to the day when the foundation of the Lord's temple was laid." Give careful thought... When they have done so they will see the resurrection of Y'shua, the very cornerstone of the foundation of the Lord's temple.

For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.

1 Corinthians 3:11

Where you find in the Bible phrases like "third day" or "third time," or find the third in a series being brought to your attention, a resurrection scenario is in view. This insight opens the door to other insights that would otherwise be missed. Remember that a day may be either mean a twenty-four hour day, a year or a millennium, and, that the seventh day is also a third day. The floodgates of insight into the fundamentals of prophecy are opening at last! Praise the Lord who reveals his wonders to his servants who seek it with their whole hearts!

In numerous other studies, I have built a case for the Bride theft being appointed for the third day of the famine week. (at the point marking two and a half sevenths, which is in the middle of the third "day") This study of the connection between resurrection and the number three illuminates the scriptural bedrock upon which that relative positioning of the Bride theft is predicated.

There are two other numbers associated with resurrection that are appropriate to mention here; the numbers 17 and 153. My attention to the number 17 came through my study of the number 153 in John 21 and later through my study of the timing of the Bride theft. These numbers 3, 17 and 153 are mathematically related to each other. For more information, see this study called The Numbers Seventeen and One Hundred Fifty-Three