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End of the Days

By Arlen L. Chitwood

 

Chapter 2

After Six Days, on the Seventh Day

A Septenary Structure Beginning the O.T., N.T.

“In the beginning God created the heaven [lit., ‘the heavens’] and the earth” (Gen. 1:1).

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

The same was in the beginning with God.

All things were made by him;  and without him was not anything made that was made [lit., ‘All things came into existence through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into existence which came into existence’]” (John 1:1-3).

Moses began Genesis after a particular fashion;  and John, 1,500 years later, began his gospel in exactly the same manner.  Both began with creation, and both continued with a septenary arrangement of events — each from a different perspective — which carries the reader through six days, into a seventh day.

In Genesis, this sets the stage for that seen throughout the remainder of and beyond Genesis — a book built upon this septenary structure, setting the stage for all which follows, the whole of the Old Testament, also built upon this structure.

This septenary structure is seen in the numerous types forming Genesis.  And this can only be the case, for the unchangeable pattern for all which would follow was introduced and established in this manner in the opening two chapters of this book.

And, viewing this same structure in the opening two chapters of John’s gospel, exactly as it had previously been set forth in the opening two chapters of Genesis (Gen. 1:1-2:3; John 1:1-2:11), the stage is again set for that which follows — a book (the New Testament as a whole) built upon this same septenary structure, a structure which, of necessity (because of the foundation set forth at the beginning), had pervaded the Old Testament.

Beginning in this manner in John’s gospel, this septenary structure is then seen in each of the eight signs, whether referencing days leading into the Sabbath, referencing the Sabbath itself, or relating a sequence of events which lead into the Sabbath.  Seven of the eight signs are structured in the former manner (referencing particular days, in connection with events);  and the remaining sign, the fifth sign, is structured in the latter manner (referencing events, in connection with particular days).

In this respect, the gospel of John is built around eight signs;  and the whole of the book rests upon a septenary structure, established at the beginning of the book, with this septenary arrangement of events leading into the first sign.

(In the preceding respect, as Genesis begins the O.T. through a sequence of events dealt with in a septenary structure, relating the subject matter of the O.T., the Gospel of John is seen beginning the N.T. exactly the same way.  John’s gospel is the only one of the four gospels containing this feature — a septenary structure, set at the beginning, exactly as seen at the beginning of Genesis, relating the subject matter of the N.T. [which is exactly the same as the subject matter of the O.T.].

Thus, John’s gospel should occupy a different place among the four gospels — first, instead of last — for John’s gospel opens the N.T., exactly as Genesis opens the O.T.

And it should go without saying, had man seen and understood this God-designed feature and parallel, placing John’s gospel in its proper place in printed editions of the N.T., it may have gone a long way in preventing that which can be seen throughout the Churches of the land today — almost total ignorance about the subject under discussion.)

The Book of Genesis

The Book of Genesis begins with the creation of the heavens and the earth (1:1).  Then the book immediately relates the ruin of the creation (1:2a).  And this, in turn, is immediately followed by revelation surrounding the restoration of the ruined creation over six days time.  This restoration is then followed by the creation of man, for the creation had been restored for man (1:2b-31; cf. Isa. 45:18b).  And a seventh-day rest followed (2:1-3).

This forms the introduction to not only Genesis but to Scripture as a whole.  The complete story of Scripture is told in the opening thirty-four verses of Genesis.  And the remainder of Scripture is simply commentary, providing all the sinews (tendons), flesh, and skin to fully clothe the skeletal framework set forth at the beginning (cf. Ezek. 37:1-10).

To illustrate, note the complete sequence following creation:  A ruined creation existed, God restored this ruined creation over six days time, and He then rested on the seventh day.  And any subsequent ruined creation — if restoration were to occur through Divine intervention — would, of necessity, have to be restored in exact accordance with the pattern which God Himself had previously established, at the beginning of His Word.

(Note that God does not, He cannot, change His revealed works in previously established patterns.  God is immutable;  God is unchangeable.  Once He has established a pattern, as seen in the opening thirty-four verses of Scripture, perfection exists within that pattern, and it can never change.

“For I am the Lord, I change not…” [Mal. 3:6a].

There is only one revealed way in which God restores a ruined creation — the one way which He Himself established and revealed at the beginning of His Word — which leaves only one way in which He can [remaining true to His Word] restore ruined man, a subsequent ruined creation.

In this respect, the basics concerning man’s restoration following his ruin [i.e., the basics concerning his salvation following his fall] have been set forth in the opening chapter of Genesis, forming Biblical truths relative to soteriology [the doctrine of salvation], which can never change.

The restoration of ruined man MUST be understood from the standpoint of how God had previously set matters forth in the prior restoration of a ruined creation.  The matter MUST be carried back to this point.

Thus, in order to have a correct foundation upon which to build, teachings surrounding soteriology MUST be carried back to and understood correctly at their beginning point, the point where God began this restorative work.  There is NO alternate way, NO alternate foundational beginning point.)

Man was created on the sixth day, immediately following God’s restoration of the ruined material creation (1:26-28; 2:7, 21-23).  Then, through Satanic intervention, man was reduced to a ruin (3:1-7).  Satan, through seeking to exalt his throne, had previously brought about the ruin of the material creation (Isa. 14:12-17);  and Satan, through deceiving the woman, causing her to eat of the forbidden fruit, now brought about man’s ruin.

Once man’s ruin had occurred, once Adam as the federal head had eaten of the forbidden fruit, if man was to be restored, it had already been revealed how God would accomplish this task and that which He would do after man had been restored.  In complete accord with that revealed in the opening thirty-four verses of Scripture, God would work six days to perform and complete man’s restoration;  and He would then rest the seventh day.

And that is exactly what began to occur in Gen. 3:21, in complete keeping with God’s preceding promise in verse fifteen:

“And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed;  it shall bruise thy head [‘He shall crush thy head’], and thou shalt bruise His heel” (v. 15).

“Unto Adam also and to his wife did the Lord God make coats of skins, and clothed them” (v. 21).

Shortly after man’s fall, God began a work of restoring the ruined creation.  This would continue for six days, six thousand years;  and God would then rest the seventh day, the seventh one-thousand-year period.

This septenary structure in God’s work of restoration and rest is something which can be seen pervading all subsequent Scripture.

For example, God later gave the Sabbath to His people, Israel, for a “sign” that He was performing a present six-day work and would rest the seventh day, following the completion of His work (Ex. 31:13-17).  And though the Sabbath was given to Israel alone, God relates in the Book of Hebrews that a Sabbath rest awaits the people of God, which sets the whole of that which the Sabbath foreshadows before Christians as well (Heb. 4:9).

Then note something about the references to the Sabbath in both Exodus and Hebrews.  In each instance, reference is made back to God’s work of restoration in Gen. 1:2b-25, with God then resting on the seventh day (Gen. 2:1-3; cf. Ex. 31:15-17; Heb. 4:3, 4).  Attention is called in each instance to the established pattern, providing a parallel between God’s past work of restoration and His present work of restoration which no one should miss.

Some call attention to the Apostle Peter’s statement in his second epistle (3:8), drawing from the ruin and restoration in Genesis, along with the events on the Mount of Transfiguration (1:15-18; 3:3-7), in an effort to show that each day in the latter restoration and rest is 1,000 years in length.  However, this is like referring to the mention of 1,000 years six times in Rev. 20:2-7 to show the length of the coming Sabbath rest.

Both Peter in his second epistle and John in the Book of Revelation provide climactic material, material forming apexes on the subject, material which had previously been dealt with extensively throughout portions of the Old and New Testaments, beginning with the opening chapters of Genesis.

(For additional information on the Sabbath in the preceding respect, refer to Appendix II in this book, “The Sign of the Sabbath.”

For additional information pertaining to man’s salvation, restoration, drawn from the opening two chapters of both Genesis and John, refer to Appendixes III, IV in this book — “The Complete Panorama of Salvation” and “The Preaching of the Cross.”)

1) Comparing Scripture with Scripture

God’s work during the six days in the opening chapter of Genesis is usually understood and taught as creation alone (i.e., verses describing God’s creation of the heavens and the earth, from verse one, over a six-day period of time).  Then, what could only be part and parcel with this type thought, individuals invariably see little to no significance in the septenary structure of these six days when combined with the following seventh day of rest (cf. II Peter 1:15-18; 3:2-8).

However, if Scripture is compared with Scripture, and the whole of subsequent Scripture is viewed in the light of that seen beginning in Gen. 1:2, the preceding couldn’t possibly be understood as the correct way to view this opening section.

For example, the Hebrew words translated “without form and void” (tohu wavohu) in Gen. 1:2a are used together only two other places throughout all of the Old Testament — in Isa. 34:11 and Jer. 4:23.  And both of these passages present a ruin of that previously seen existing in an orderly state.

In Isa. 34:11, Edom [v. 6], used as representative of all the Gentile nations in the chapter, was destined to become tohu wavohu (translated “confusion” and “emptiness” [KJV], “desolation” and “emptiness” [NASB]).

And in Jer. 4:23-28, there is a comparison of that which had previously occurred relative to the earth in Gen. 1:2a to that which was about to occur relative to the land of Israel.

The land of Israel was about to become tohu wavohu.  That is, as seen in Jer. 4:23-28, God was about to do the same thing to the land of Israel (cf. vv. 14-22) that He had previously done to the earth in Gen. 1:2a.  And the reason for God’s actions, in both that which He had done and that which He was about to do, was the same — the entrance of sin (sin on the part of Satan in the former, and sin on the part of the Jewish people in the latter).

And, in complete keeping with this type understanding of the use of tohu wavohu in Isa. 34:11 and Jer. 4:23, Isa. 45:18 (where the Hebrew word tohu is used) clearly states that God did not create the earth (in Gen. 1:1) in the manner described in Gen. 1:2a.  Isaiah 45:18 clearly states that God “created it [the earth] not in vain [not tohu].”

In this respect, if Gen. 1:2a is to be understood in the light of related Scripture bearing on the subject, there can be only one possible interpretationthe ruin of a prior existing creation (from v. 1), because of sin.  And the ruin seen in Gen. 1:2a, Isa. 34:11, and Jer. 4:23 — ruined for a purpose — is with a view to eventual restoration.

A restoration of the ruin seen in Gen. 1:2a is depicted in the continuing text in the chapter, and a restoration of the ruin seen in both Isa. 34:11 and Jer. 4:23 is depicted in revelation numerous places throughout the Old Testament (Israel restored, with the nations both restored and placed in subjection to Israel [e.g., note Isa. 35:1ff; 60:1ff; Jer. 4:27]).

Then, the whole of subsequent Scripture is perfectly in line with this type understanding of the opening section of Scripture.  The whole of subsequent Scripture is built on a septenary structure, with the foundation established and set in an unchangeable fashion at the beginning, in Gen. 1:1-2:3.

That is to say:

The heavens and the earth were created, there was a ruin of the material creation (because of sin), God took six days to restore the ruined creation, and He rested the seventh day.

Man was created on the sixth day, man fell into a state of ruin (because of sin), God is presently taking six days (6,000 years) to restore man, and God will rest the seventh day (the seventh 1,000-year period [cf. II Peter 1:15-18; 3:3-8]).

And the latter, patterned after the former, is what the whole of Scripture is about.  The whole of Scripture is about the same thing initially introduced and established in an unchangeable fashion in the opening thirty-four verses of Genesis (1:1-2:3).

The whole of Scripture is about the creation of man (for a purpose), his ruin, his restoration over a six-day period (over a 6,000-year period), followed by a seventh day of rest (a seventh 1,000-year period — the Sabbath rest awaiting the people of God [Heb. 4:9; cf. vv. 3, 4], the Messianic Era, wherein man will realize the purpose for his creation in the beginning).

Man would have been expected to understand this opening section of Scripture, at least in a general respect, after the preceding fashion at the time it was written;  and subsequent Scripture simply verifies the correctness of the way man would have been expected to understand it (apart from other revelation at the time Genesis was written).

2)  Only One Possible Conclusion

Through comparing Scripture with Scripture, and in the light of Scripture as a whole — i.e., in the light of the soteriological nature of the whole of Scripture following man’s fall, which is set in a septenary structure — there is only one possible way to interpret and understand Gen. 1:1-2:3.  These verses, solely from the standpoint of an interpretation and understanding from Scripture, can be understood only as a ruin following creation, a restoration of the ruined creation over a six-day period, and a day of rest following.

Seeking to understand these opening verses after any other fashion is out of line with the way Scripture itself handles the matter — something which could only form a beginning basis for unsound Biblical study.  The latter is true simply because any person beginning Genesis after a fashion other than the manner in which God clearly reveals that He began His revelation to man would be laying an incorrect foundation upon which to build as the person moves on into and seeks to understand subsequent Scripture.

(For information on the Hebrew text of Gen. 1:2, and Genesis chapter one in general, refer to Appendix I in this book, “Was or Became?”)

 The Gospel of John

And, as previously stated, this septenary, soteriological structure of Scripture is true not only relative to the manner in which the Book of Genesis begins but relative to the manner in which the Gospel of John begins as well.  The manner in which the Gospel of John begins (in chs. 1, 2a) forms an exact parallel to the manner in which the Book of Genesis begins (in chs. 1, 2a).

In John’s gospel, as in Genesis, there is a creation, a ruin of the creation, a restoration of the ruined creation over six days time, and a day of rest following the restoration.  And this opening part of John’s gospel, drawing from and calling attention to the opening verses of Genesis, again clearly shows the only way in which Gen. 1:1-2:3, from a Biblical standpoint, can possibly be understood.

Creation is seen in John 1:1-3;  the ruin of the creation is dealt with in connection with a restoration of the ruined creation in John 1:4, 5;  restoration is seen occurring over six days time (cf. 1:29, 35, 43; 2:1), and events on the day of rest, the Sabbath, are seen occurring immediately following the restoration (John 2:1-11).

1)  Creation

Creation in the opening chapter of Genesis begins with the material creation.  This is what was both ruined and restored in Genesis, with man created on the sixth day, preceding the day of rest.

John, in his gospel, presents matters surrounding God’s creative activity from a different perspective.  John brings everything together (the material creation, angels, animals, man) in one all-encompassing statement:

“All things were made by him;  and without him was not anything made that was made [lit., ‘All things came into existence through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into existence which came into existence’].”

In this respect, the first three verses of John’s gospel form commentary for Scripture dealing with any part of God’s creative activity, whether past, present, or future (cf. Gen. 1:1, 21, 27; 2:3, 4; Isa. 43:1; 65:17; Ezek. 28:14, 15; II Cor. 5:17).  Nothing within God’s creative activity has ever occurred or will ever occur apart from the Son.

“For by him [‘For in connection with Him’] were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers:  all things were created by him, and for him [‘created through Him, and with respect to Him’]:

And he is before all things, and by him all things consist [‘and in connection with Him all things have been brought together’]” (Col. 1:16, 17).

In verse seventeen, the word “is” is a translation of the Greek word eimi (a verb of being).  This word, as in John 1:1, 2, 4, is used in a timeless sense — a sense with respect to an existence without a beginning or an end.  And, in keeping with the use of eimi in this respect, the verb translated “consist” in the same verse (or, perhaps better translated as shown in the preceding translation of Col. 1:17: “have been brought together”) is in the perfect tense in the Greek text, pointing to a work occurring during past time which exists during present time in a finished state.

Thus, viewing Col. 1:16, 17 and John 1:3 together, all things were created in connection with, through, and with respect to Christ.  And, in connection with Him (in connection with the One existing apart from a beginning or an end), these things have been brought together in past time and continue that way during present time.

2)  Ruin of the Creation

The ruin in Genesis chapter one had to do with the material creation.  In John chapter one, though an allusion is made back to the ruin of the material creation in Genesis (v. 5; cf. Gen. 1:3-5; II Cor. 4:6), the ruin has to do with man (seen throughout the chapter in man’s need of a Saviour).  In this respect, Genesis sets forth the type and John the antitype.  Genesis foreshadows that seen in John.

Man, created on the sixth day immediately following the restoration of the material creation (Gen. 1:26-28), fell.  Through Satanic intervention, man was reduced to a ruin (Gen. 3:1ff).  John, in his gospel, picks up at the point of the ruin having occurred and calls attention to light shining out of darkness, connecting this light with God’s Son, the Word made flesh, the Lamb of God (1:4-14, 29-36).

In the preceding respect, man’s ruin is seen indirectly at the beginning of John’s gospel two different ways:

a) It is seen through light shining out of darkness (an allusion back to Gen. 1:2-5, drawing from light shining out of a ruin in God’s original restoration of a ruined creation, forming an unchangeable pattern concerning how God restores a ruined creation).

b) It is seen in the appearance and introduction of a Deliverer, a Saviour (Whose appearance and introduction would be unnecessary if man’s ruin had not previously occurred).

Thus, John, beginning at and drawing from the restoration in Gen. 1:2b, connects the light shining out of darkness with the Deliverer, the Saviour, the Lamb of God (John 1:14, 29, 35).  And from how the Spirit of God handles the matter in the opening chapter of John (when He moved John to pen his gospel), one can know exactly what the Spirit of God was foreshadowing through His order of events during the six days of Genesis chapter one (which He, almost fifteen hundred years earlier, had moved Moses to pen).  

3)  Restoration over Six Days

Again, numerically, John deals with the antitype of that seen in Genesis.  He moves through six days, into the seventh;  and, from that seen occurring on the seventh day, the six days could only be thought of as connected with restoration (in keeping with light shining out of darkness, the appearance and introduction of a Saviour inseparably associated with this light, and in keeping with the fact that the original pattern in Genesis is structured in this manner [i.e., six days of restorative work preceding a day of rest]).

John 1:29 moves events from the first to the second day (“The next day…”);  verse thirty-five moves events into the third day (“Again the next day…”);  verse forty-three moves events into the fourth day (“The day following…”);  and John 2:1 moves events into the seventh day (“And the third day…”).

In this respect, the numerical structure of John 1, 2a would not only be in complete keeping with the numerical structure of Gen. 1, 2a but with the whole of Scripture as well.

Within this septenary framework, Scripture begins at two numerical points to move into the seventh day — one beginning at the time of man’s creation, the other beginning at the time of Christ’s first coming, more specifically at the time of events surrounding His crucifixion:

a) The complete six days, followed by a seventh day, as seen in Genesis chapters one and two (cf. Matt. 17:1ff).

b) The last two days, followed by a third day, as seen in sections of Scripture such as Hosea 5:15-6:2 and John 11:6, 7.

(For information on the preceding, refer back to Chapter I in this book, “On the Third Day, Seventh Day.”)

Then, both would be seen together in a section of Scripture such as Num. 19:11-22.

And the latter is exactly what John does at the beginning of his gospel.  He moves through all six days, into the seventh;  but he specifically singles out the last two (taking one into the third, which is the seventh [depending on where the count begins]), showing exactly what is seen in other parallel Scriptures (cf. Hosea 6:2; Matt. 17:1; Luke 24:7, 21, 46; I Cor. 15:4).

4)  Rest on the Seventh Day

On the third day, the seventh day, all of God’s firstborn Sons will be raised up to live in His sight:

Jesus (God’s only begotten firstborn Son).

Israel (God’s adopted firstborn son).

The Church (following the adoption into a firstborn status).

Jesus was raised from the dead on the third day, pointing to His elevation and exaltation in that coming day — to the third one-thousand-year period dating from the crucifixion.

Israel will be raised from the place of death on the third day, the third one-thousand-year period dating from the nation’s death, the nation’s setting aside.  Note Jonah and Lazarus as types of Israel in this respect.

The Church, “in Christ” and in one respect presently occupying the same position occupied by Christ during His two days in the tomb — with future life emanating out of present death (cf. Phil. 3:10, 11; Col. 2:12; 3:1-4) — will, following the adoption, be raised up with Christ on the third one-thousand-year period dating from the inception of the Church.

And on the third day, or on the seventh day, the events foreshadowed by the first sign in John’s gospel will occur.  These signs have to do with Israel, necessitating that Israel be seen occupying the central place in that to which the signs point.

And that is exactly what is seen in the first sign, pointing to events which will occur on the third or the seventh day when the nation has been raised up to live in God’s sight.

(Note that in the restoration occurring over six days, seen in both Genesis and John, one book does not concern itself any more with events foreshadowed by those occurring on the first day [events relating to salvation by grace through faith] than does the other book.  Both begin at this point and have to do with a complete restoration seen through continuing events occurring during the remaining five days as well, with a view to the seventh day, the Sabbath.

And this is exactly what one finds in either book — the types in Genesis, the signs in John [among other related things in both books].

As well, this is perfectly in line with the stated purpose for John’s gospel [20:30, 31], which, through the signs [paralleling the types in Genesis], moves beyond events foreshadowed by those on day one into events foreshadowed by those on days two through six, with a view to events foreshadowed by those on the seventh day, the earth’s coming Sabbath.)

5)  The Signs in John’s Gospel

The Gospel of John is built around eight signs;  and, as in the sign of the Sabbath, the signs in this gospel point to things beyond the signs themselves.

It is the Jew who requires a sign (I Cor. 1:22);  and these signs, taken from numerous signs which Jesus performed during His earthly ministry, are directed (as was His ministry in that day) to the Jewish people.

Jesus performed signs of this nature for one central purpose:

“…that ye [the Jewish people] might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God;  and that believing ye might have life through his name [‘life’ having to do with the subject at hand, the proffered kingdom, not eternal life]” (John 20:30, 31; cf. John 2:11; 5:46, 47; 6:14, 21; 11:45).

Seven of the eight signs in John’s gospel were performed in connection with particular days, all in perfect keeping with one another, all in perfect keeping with the sign of the Sabbath, and all in perfect keeping with the septenary arrangement of Scripture.  And all of the signs refer, after different fashions, to the same thing.  They all refer to things surrounding Israel’s coming salvation and restoration, which will occur after six days (after 6,000 years), in the seventh day (in the seventh 1,000-year period).

The first sign, in 2:1-11, has to do with Jesus turning the water in six waterpots to wine (“six,” man’s number;  the waterpots made from the earth, as man;  filled with water [the Word]; and through Divine intervention a change ensues).

This sign, foreshadowing the future salvation and restoration of Israel as the wife of Jehovah, occurred on the seventh day (1:29, 35, 43; 2:1), which is when Israel will enter into these experiences foreshadowed by the sign.

The second sign, in 4:40-54, has to do with the healing of a nobleman’s son.

This sign occurred after Jesus had spent two days with the Samaritans, on the third day (vv. 40, 43).  It will be after two days visiting “the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for his name,” on the third day, that Jesus will return to the Jewish people to effect healing for the nation (cf. Hosea 5:15-6:2; Acts 15:14-18).

The third sign, in 5:1-9, also had to do with healing, with a man being healed at a particular time.  This healing occurred after thirty-eight years, on the Sabbath (vv. 5, 9).

The reference (drawn from an O.T. type) would be to the healing of the nation through the second generation of Israelites being allowed to enter the land under Joshua, after thirty-eight years (dating from the overthrow at Kadesh-Barnea).

And both the sign and type would foreshadow the same future event.  They would both point to that future time when the nation will be healed and will be allowed to enter the land under Jesus, as the Israelites in the Old Testament were allowed to enter under Joshua (the Hebrew name meaning “Jesus,” “Salvation”) — an event which will occur on the seventh day, the Sabbath.

The fourth sign, in 6:1-14, has to do with bread being provided for the multitudes;  and this sign occurred in connection with the Passover (v. 4).

Jesus is that “bread of life” which will be provided for the nation yet future (v. 35), and the Passover is the festival in Lev. 23 which has to do with the future salvation of Israel, when the nation will receive the true “bread of life.”

Israel has slain the Lamb (cf. Ex. 12:6; Acts 2:36; 3:14, 15), but the nation has yet to apply the blood (cf. Ex. 12:7, 13; Zech. 12:10; Rom. 11:26).

The Passover, the first of seven Jewish festivals outlining a prophetic calendar and sequence of events in relation to Israel, will be fulfilled in that coming day when Israel does apply the blood (through faith).  And this will then be followed by a continued supernatural provision for the nation, exactly as foreshadowed by the sign.

(For additional information on the preceding, refer to Appendix III, “The Prophetic Calendar of Israel,” in the author’s book, “Never Again!” or “Yes, Again!”)

The fifth sign, in 6:15-21, has to do with Christ’s departure, a storm, His return, the disciples’ attitude toward Him at this time, and the geographical location in which they subsequently found themselves.

This sign foreshadows Christ’s departure from Israel two thousand years ago (v. 15), the coming Tribulation (vv. 16-18), Christ’s return (vv. 19, 20), the nation receiving Him (v. 21a), and the nation’s restoration to the land (v. 21b).  This is the only sign not providing a specific reference to particular days, but the chronology must be understood in the light of the other seven signs.

The sixth sign, in 9:1-41, has to do with the healing of a blind man, on the Sabbath day (v. 14).

This sign foreshadows Israel’s future deliverance from her blindness (Rom. 11:25), which will occur on the seventh day, the Sabbath.  Or, as in Luke 24:13-31, it will occur after two days (dating from the crucifixion), on the third day (v. 21).

The seventh sign, in 11:1-44, has to do with the resurrection of Lazarus.  This resurrection occurred after Jesus had been out of the land of Judea two days, on the third day (vv. 6, 7), after Lazarus had lain in the grave four days (v. 17).

This sign foreshadows Israel’s future resurrection/restoration (Ezek. 37:12-14; Dan. 12:2) after two days, on the third day;  and at this time Israel will have been in the place of death four days, dating four millenniums back to Abraham.

The eighth sign, in 20:1-29, has to do with Christ’s resurrection, after two days, on the third day.

This sign foreshadows that coming third day, dating from the crucifixion, when not only Israel but all of God’s firstborn Sons (Christ, Israel, and the Church [following the adoption]) will be raised up to live in His sight, which will be after two days, on the third day.

And all of this, in another frame of reference, will be after six days, on the seventh day.