Counting the 3-Days and 3-Nights: The Death, Burial, and Resurrection of Messiah

Posted on 04/08/2024 by goodnewsfromadistantland — Leave a comment

Learning numbers and how to count is most often learned as a child. Most children grasp the concept very quickly and are generally excited at the process of counting.

We can find the concept of counting in the first few verses of the Bible, which makes numbers (arithmetic/mathematics) as something that God invented. Therefore it would be beneficial for all of us to learn and understand this most fascinating subject of mathematics!

Most children can understand the process of counting by these verses in Genesis Chapters 1 & 2:

And God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. And the evening and the morning were The First Day. Genesis 1:5

And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were The Second Day. Genesis 1:8

And the evening and the morning were The Third Day. Genesis 1:13

And the evening and the morning were The Fourth Day. Genesis 1:19

And the evening and the morning were The Fifth Day. Genesis 1:23

And God saw every thing that He had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were The Sixth Day. Genesis 1:31

And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had made; and He rested on The Seventh Day from all His work which He had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it He had rested from all His work which God created and made. Genesis 2:2-3

So it is here, from the very beginning of time, we see the concept of counting:

First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh.

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7.

Evening and Morning: The Definition of a Day

It is important to notice how the LORD God (whose Hebrew name is Yahuwah Elohim) defines a DAY. As the above Scriptures reveal, a day begins at sunset (the evening). Hence the morning time is really the middle of a day. A day ends at the moment of the following sunset. Each 24-hour period begins at sunset.

This explains why a Biblical Day begins and ends at the moment of sunset. All Biblical Days go from nightfall to nightfall. Thus we can understand why the Sabbath Day begins Friday evening at sunset and ends the following evening, Saturday at sunset.

The LORD God established the definition of a DAY with the first few verses in Genesis. Over and over we can see that the LORD instituted The Evening Time (sunset) as The Start of a Biblical DAY.

The Sign of Jonah: Counting the Days

As this introduction shows, the simplicity of counting should be very easy to grasp. Thus the accurate counting of days for the Sign of the Prophet Jonah, which is also as The Sign of the Messiah and His death, burial, and resurrection, should also be easy to grasp.

In the book of Matthew, we see where the Lord Jesus Christ (whose Hebrew name is Yahushua Messiah) answered the question about His Sign:

Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we want to see a sign from You. But He (the Lord) answered and said to them, An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign. And there shall be no sign given to it except the Sign of the Prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the huge fish, so the Son of Man shall be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. (Matthew 12:38-40)

It is sad that the religious leaders would ask Jesus (Yahushua) for a Sign. They were already aware that Jesus spoke ‘as one who had authority’, that He was ‘a teacher come from God’, and that He had done many miracles among the people (Mark 1:22; John 3:2).

The religious leaders must have also recognized the significance of the preaching of John the Baptist as the ‘Messenger’ who would declare: “Prepare ye the way of the LORD (the Messiah)” (Isaiah 40:3; John 1:22-23).

And, as we saw in Messiah: Not An Ordinary Man, Jesus (Yahushua) was accepted by a large number of disciples who obviously believed that Jesus was the Messiah. However, the religious leaders eventually rejected Yahushua (Jesus) as the Messiah, just as it was prophesied in Isaiah 53:3; John 1:11; see also Psalms 22 & Psalms 69.

But let me return to our focus: the counting of the days of Yahushua’s (Jesus’) death, burial, and resurrection. These 3 days and 3 nights are just like Jonah’s 3 days and 3 nights in the belly of the huge fish.

The Sign of Jonah: Counting the 3-Days and 3-Nights

There shall be no sign given — EXCEPT the Sign of the Prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the huge fish, so the Son of Man shall be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

Let’s look at this phrase spoken by Messiah, who often referred to Himself as ‘the Son of Man’:

… the Son of Man shall be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. (Matthew 12:38-40)

The death, burial, and resurrection of (Jesus) Yahushua occurred in the Biblical Month of Abib, during the Spring Feasts of the LORD. The Feasts of the LORD are Yahuwah’s very special Appointed Feasts Days, as we saw in Preparing For His Appearing. Many of God’s very important events occur during His annual, Appointed Feasts Days!

Let’s look at this special week of the Biblical Month of Abib.

The Biblical Month of Abib

In the Biblical Month of Abib, the 14th Day of the Month is the Day of Passover. That is the Day when the sacrificial lamb was to be slain (See Exodus 12:2-14 and Numbers 9:2-5). Since Jesus (Yahushua) was the Lamb of God, then the Crucifixion and Death of Jesus Christ (Yahushua Messiah) happened on the 14th Day of the Month of Abib.

As we can see by the Calendar Chart above, the event of Messiah’s death, burial, and resurrection (the 3 Days and 3 Nights) could not have begun on a Friday. Proper counting tells us it began on a Wednesday, the 14th Day of the Month of Abib.

As the 14th Day (Wednesday) was drawing to a close, Jesus, who was on the cross, died at 3 pm. Then, right before sunset, near the beginning of darkness, Jesus was taken down from the cross and laid in the grave, “in the earth.” Thus began the FIRST of the 3 Nights in the heart of the earth. (The first Red Arrow on the 14th Day points to Wednesday evening at dusk, the FIRST NIGHT of the 3 Nights.)

The next Day was Thursday, the 15th Day of the Month of Abib. This 15th Day of the Month was an annual High Sabbath Day known as the First Day of the Feast of Unleavened, and no work is to be done on this annual High Sabbath Day. Thus began the FIRST DAY of the 3 Days in the heart of the earth.

At the end of the 15th Day of the Month, Thursday evening at dusk, began the SECOND NIGHT of the 3 Nights in the heart of the earth.

The next Day was Friday, the 16th Day of the Month of Abib. This 16th Day of the Month was the regular Preparation Day for the weekly Sabbath Day. This was the Day that the women bought and prepared the burial spices. This Day thus began the SECOND DAY of the 3 Days in the heart of the earth.

At the end of the 16th Day of the Month, Friday evening at dusk, began the THIRD NIGHT of the 3 Nights in the heart of the earth.

The next Day was Saturday, the 17th Day of the Month of Abib. This 17th Day of the Month was the weekly Sabbath Day, and no work is to be done on the weekly Sabbath Day. This day thus began the THIRD DAY of the 3 days in the heart of the earth.

After the end of the 17th Day of the Month, Saturday at dusk, the 18th Day of the Month began. This is the evening that began the next day, being the first day of the new week. It is at this time that Messiah came out of the grave (Messiah’s resurrection), perhaps only seconds after the weekly Sabbath day had ended. HalleluYAH! (The second Red Arrow on the 17th Day points to the end of Saturday at dusk/the beginning of Sunday the 18th day — thus the Resurrection and the completion of the 3 Days and 3 Nights.)

The moment of the Resurrection occurred in the beginning of Sunday, the first day of the new week, which was the 18th Day of the Month of Abib. This 18th Day of the Month was the Wave Sheaf Day — the day after the Sabbath, also known as Firstfruits Day. This was the Day when the Resurrected Messiah was declared the “firstfruits of them that slept” (1Corinthians 15:20), as He went before the LORD God, and was approved and accepted by the LORD (Yahuwah).

A Simple Explanation

This is a very simple explanation of the 3 Days and 3 Nights of Messiah’s death, burial, and resurrection — the time-frame of when He was in the heart of the earth.

Sadly, as with many of God’s truths, Satan has influenced and confused multitudes by twisting the counting of the 3 Days and 3 Nights of the death, burial, and resurrection of Messiah. I say it again – Sadly, there are many popular, convoluted, perverted teachings about this major event in the life of our Saviour. How distressing it is to twist such a simple process of counting!

After searching, I was able to find only a few others that present an accurate understanding of this most important event. There could well be others that understand the Biblical perspective of the 3 Days and 3 Nights, but my search was fairly minimal. I have included 3 links below to these other Biblically accurate articles.

Being in Harmony With God’s Agenda

As we begin to look deeper into God’s Word, we begin to have a better understanding of God’s Ways and the important events of the LORD’s calendar. God revealed His Plans and His timeline in the heavenly constellations from the beginning of time, which includes the telling of Messiah’s visitation to the earth.

The constellations reveal many complex mysteries about the LORD God (Yahuwah Elohim). But why not? Our God is an awesome, amazing, magnificent God which is why the heavens truly “declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handywork” (Psalms 19:1)

The wonderful thing about the LORD is that His truths can be explained and understood by a child and yet can also be complex and challenging to a scholar.

The LORD desires that all of His children would begin to line up with His Word and be in-step with Him, the Creator of the Universe. The LORD (Yahuwah) desires that we would enter into His time-frame, into His calendar of events, HIS agenda!

The above explanation of the 3 Days and 3 Nights of Messiah’s death, burial, and resurrection should open our eyes to God’s truth and expose the fallacy and the unscriptural practice of the so-called “Holy Week” of the Catholic Church.

Making Adjustments

All of us need to adjust ourselves away from man-made time frames, and toward GOD’s time-frame, so that we can be in harmony with observing the LORD’s annual Feasts Days. This is because our participation in His annual Feast Days becomes the start of a much greater understanding of our heavenly Father’s plans and purposes, and of His phenomenal love for His children:

But as it is written, Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God has prepared for them that love Him. (1Corinthians 2:9)

Our walking in harmony with God’s Word makes His presence and plans much more exciting and real.

Thank You Father God, for Your great love for Your children. Thank You for guiding us by Your Word. Help me to adjust myself to be in harmony with Your agenda. Help me to turn my heart more fully to You and to Your purposes. In Jesus Christ’s (Yahushua Messiah’s) name I pray. Amen.

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