THE THIRD DAY

Adapted from a discourse, God’s Holy Mountain, delivered in Poland by J.F. Scale, 2015

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Part Two

THE PREVIOUS instalment of this subject dwelt on Ex. 19: 1-15. Israel was yet not a theocracy, but about to become one, under the terms of a covenant made with THE MOST HIGH. The LORD had told them (v. 5) ‛if you obey me fully, and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession.’ They would become a kingdom of priests, a holy nation (v. 6). Heaven’s treasure box is filled with many precious gems – figurative diamonds, rubies, sapphires.

For the Christian Church – of whom fleshly Israel is a type – that’s how much God longed for fellowship with His people. Here, in the desert wilderness God gathered them to Himself. The people had ‛washed their clothes’ to prepare against the ‛third day’. Compare Heb. 10: 22: ⁅Let us [Christians] draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.’ Following the later construction of the Tabernacle (‛the tent of meeting’), the laver, situated in the Court, was used for the ceremonial washing by the High Priest and the Under Priests. The Temple, built by Solomon, centuries later, and on a mammoth scale, also incorporated a laver for a similar function.

16. On the morning of the third day there was thunder and lightning, with a thick cloud over the mountain, and a very loud trumpet blast. Everyone in the camp trembled.

Now we arrive at the third day. Come, and let us return unto Jehovah; for he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up. After two days will he revive us: on the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live before him’ (Hosea 6: 1, 2; ASV; emphases added).

From this we learn that the three days of Exodus 19: 10, 11 and Hosea 6: 1, 2 are connected.

When Moses came down that mountain (v. 7), he called together the elders of the people and told them what God had said to him and all the people answered together, ‛we will do everything the LORD has said’ (v. 8). Why? Because they wanted to be a special treasure, the holy nation – all other peoples will come to us, so to speak (Amos 3: 2). Prideful, perhaps they were saying ‛yes’ for the wrong reasons.

17. Then Moses led the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood [assembled] at the foot of the mountain,

18. Mount Sinai was covered with smoke, because the LORD descended on it in fire.

The smoke billowed up from it like smoke from a furnace, and the whole mountain trembled violently. [Emphases added.]

The warning, given previously, to not touch the mountain still held, and is repeated here (vs. 12, 13). Given the large multitude that stretched out beyond the mountain, the various instructions and dire warnings would have been relayed by messengers throughout the vast camp. Compare Acts 2: 1-11, on the (much later) occasion of Pentecost, whereby the multitude of foreigners who had come to Jerusalem for the feast heard the disciples addressing them in their native tongues.

19 As the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke and the voice of God answered him. [Emphases added]

The next few verses reiterate the reverential approach demanded of not only Moses but also of the priests. Observe the conversation between Moses and the LORD (vs. 23, 24). ‛The LORD would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks with a friend’ (Ex. 33: 11; emphases added).

20 The LORD descended to the top of Mount Sinai and called Moses to the top of the mountain. So Moses went up

21 and the LORD said to him, ‛Go down and warn the people so they do not force their way through to see the LORD and many of them perish.

22 Even the priests, who approach the LORD, must consecrate themselves, or the LORD will break out against them.’

23 Moses said to the LORD, ‛The people cannot come up Mount Sinai, because you yourself warned us, “Put limits around the mountain and set it apart as holy.”’

24 The LORD replied, ‛Go down and bring Aaron up with you. But the priests and the people must not force their way through to come up to the LORD, or he will break out against them.’

In his commentary, Clarke writes on v. 24: ‛God knew that they were heedless, criminally curious, and stupidly obstinate; and therefore his mercy saw it right to give them line upon line, that they might not transgress to their own destruction.’ [emphases added; and comp. v. 23]

25 So Moses went down to the people and told them.

The following chapter, Exodus 20, focuses on the Ten Commandments and the avoidance of idolatry, beyond the scope of this article.

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APPENDIX 1

— Significance Of The Third Day—

" But that God is able to raise all the dead he declares is demonstrated by the fact that He raised Jesus from the dead on the third day; and so likewise on the third Day of the larger scale — the third thousand-year day from the time Jesus was raised — God will raise up all those who have died because of Adam's sin. That Third Great Day, the Millennium, will be the great Seventh Day or Sabbath. So to speak, our Lord gave Himself a Ransom-price in the fifth Day, from which the Seventh would be the Third Day, the day of the world's resurrection— "the last Day"— the end of the present Week of 1,000— years days in which sin and death have reigned, ushering in the glorious Epoch when God's will shall be done on earth as it is done in heaven' (Herald of the Epiphany, p.44,col.2; P.S.L. Johnson)

Each day in its wider sense is 1,000 years long, with particular reference to the Gospel Age and the death of Christ on the cross. The third day is therefore synonymous with the Millennium — the greater Sabbath. Our Lord Jesus gave himself as the ransom price on the fifth day, counting from which the seventh would be the third day. To paraphrase Bro. Johnson: "the third day" is the seventh day [that was] secured [by the ransom] on the fifth day. On the face of it this all can seem a bit complicated but in reality it isn't. See diagram below. "third day" is, therefore, the start of the world's resurrection. It is the day that follows the 6,000 years-long period in which sin and death have reigned, and is interchangeable with the Millennium, that will usher in the glorious epoch of restitution on earth.

Just as Moses' ascent into Mount Sinai — a type of the Kingdom— was accompanied by clouds of darkness, fire and lightning, so in antitype the social order is now in a Time of Trouble, figurative thunder and lightning making all the earth tremble, just as Israel experienced at Mount Sinai (Psa 50:1;'east to west').

Jesus is the antitype of Moses. The Law Covenant, mediated by Moses, was eventually shattered by the Jewish nation (Matt.23:38). Jesus was the only one who ever have obeyed it perfectly.

Perhaps now is the the time for those who accept Christ as Saviour and King- the pre-Millennial justified believers — to stand and be counted. Unless we have cleansed our character graces and have a pure heart (Psa. 24:4), figuratively speaking, how can we approach that mountain of God, except by His grace? (Heb. 12:12-29.)

Each figurative day is 1,000 years

Creation to Death of Christ on 5th day Gospel Age to Millennium

<··························································> <······································>

1st day- 2nd day- 3rd day- 4th day— 5th day- 6th day- 7th day

···································· 5th day ············ 3rd day

Ransom- ' Sinai'

-Deposited New Cov. Sealed

With Converted Israel

APPENDIX 2

-2034-

Jesus brings to our attention in Matthew 24:34 when He says, 'Verily I say unto you, this generation shall not pass until all things are fulfilled' The words 'verily, verily', tell us that Jesus is giving you important information. According to Gen.6:3 the biblical 'generation' is 120 years.

In 2 Peter 2:5, the Apostle says that God did not spare the ancient world when He brought the flood on the ungodly, but protected Noah a preacher of righteousness? and seven others (his wife and sons)

When did Noah preach righteousness? For how long? Have you ever thought about it? If we can determine from scripture how long it took for him and his family to build the ark, perhaps we can also determine how long he was engaged in the task. Noah 'preached' by his labours those 120 years.

Now let us consider 1914, the start of the First World War, accepted by many Bible Students as the end of Gentile Times and the beginning of the Time of Trouble (Matt 24: 21,22; KJV). This tells us that this deluge of trouble is typified by the Flood (Matt. 24:37-39):

As was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.[ Emphasis added].

Taking 1914 as a starting point of the Time of Trouble and adding120 years we arrive at 2034.

Food for thought?

06/2025- ukbiblestudents.co.uk- no copyright

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