This is Easter weekend, the time Christians now celebrate Jesus going to the cross as an act of self-sacrifice to save the world from sin against God, and his resurrection from the dead, having conquered death.
For "three days" Jesus lay dead. He died on Friday, is said to have descended into the depths of the earth to save even those who had died before his coming, then rose again the "third day."The "three days" and the "third day" are a repeated theme throughout much of the Bible. It is all a revealing prophecy--even for our own time--today.
The three-day term regarding the salvation of mankind takes shape in chapter 22 of the book of Genesis, where Abraham after God called to him and commandment him, took his only son Isaac up a mountain to sacrifice on an alter before God. It was a test, and a foreshadowing prophecy. On the "third day" Abraham proceeded to go ahead with the sacrificing of his son. But God intervened and provided a ram to sacrifice in Isaac's place.
Then in chapter 40 of Genesis, Joseph (son of Jacob aka Israel, son of Isaac, son of Abraham) while in prison gave an interpretation from God of the dreams God had given to the Cup Bearer and Baker of the Pharaoh of Egypt ("Pharaoh", meaning "great house"). Pharaoh's Cup Bearer received a dream of "three" branches, and his Baker received a dream of "three" baskets. Joseph interpreted each "three" to mean "three days." The "three branches" were a reference to those of a vine, meaning: Christ, "the true vine." The "three baskets" were a reference to "bread"--from heaven, which is the Word of God, again meaning: Christ.
The Cup Bearer then, after "three days" was returned to serving the "great house", and the Baker lost his head, meaning Christ was "cut off" (a prophecy confirmed by Daniel).
Fast forward to Jesus, who said among many references to the "three days", "I am the true vine" John 15:1, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” John 2:19 (referring to the temple of his body), and "Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I shall be perfected" Luke 13:32.
Jesus being the "Head" of the Church is his "body", as the rest of scripture indicates, "today" in Jesus' statement above, is to be understood as the day of his coming to Israel, and "tomorrow" as his coming to all the other [gentile] nations and people. Which bring us up to the present, or "third day."
The "third day" is "that day of the Lord" repeatedly referred to in the scriptures as the day that everything is wrapped up and finished, the day of his and our deliverance. That day of which he said, "the third day I shall be perfected." "Perfected" here is a reference to Jesus saying, "you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect." Matthew 5:48.
Do things now seem "perfect?"
No, but it is coming...as the times of the gentile nations are coming to a close. As it is also written of these times:
The angel whom I saw standing on the sea and on the land raised up his hand to heaven and swore by Him who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and the things that are in it, the earth and the things that are in it, and the sea and the things that are in it, that there should be delay no longer, but in the days of the sounding of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound, the mystery of God would be finished, as He declared to His servants the prophets." Revelation 10:5-7
