It’s this simple – Jesus was raised on the third day and will return in the third millennium after His resurrection. Read on to make a guess at how early in this third millennium He will return.
Jesus died at the 9th hour, 3 p.m., Friday (Luke 23:44). He rose from the dead early on the third day, Sunday. Mark 16:2 and Luke 24:1 suggests it was soon after daylight. Other Gospels just describe it as early dawn or even before daylight. So I’m just guessing that it’s between 6 and 7 am. From the earth shake in Matthew’s report it seems reasonable that Jesus was raised just prior to the women arriving. That makes it 39 to 40 hours that He was dead. Whether it’s 39 or 40 is not really the point. It was during the first hour of the day he was raised. This millennium, 2000, is the 3rd millennium from His death and the 7th millennium from Adam. The suggestion is that as Jesus was raised on the 3rd day so he will return in the third millennium.
Using the “day to one thousand year” scaling (Psalm 90:4, 2 Peter 3:8 ), then one hour is 41.7 years. So if Jesus was raised in the first hour of the day then that would be in the first 41 years of this millennium. And that is the upper limit to when we might expect His return. (I’m not saying what will happen but you get the sense of imminence and need to be alert.)
Matthew 26:1-2, immediately following all the end time predictions in Matthew 24 and 25, it says...
When Jesus had finished all these words, He said to His disciples, “You know that after two days the Passover is coming, and the Son of Man is to be handed over for crucifixion.”
Mark 14:1 also mentions the 2 days right after warnings. Luke 22:1, right after warning about His second coming again mentions the Passover is near but doesn’t specify the number of days.
Why is the declaration of all these things tied to 2 days before the crucifixion? Jesus literally carries right on from End-Times warnings to declaring that after 2 days he will be crucified. Is this a hint? 2 days – 2 thousand years later it’s fulfilled. Jesus did not need to know this himself but He always spoke by the unction of the Holy Spirit. Also note that His crucifixion was His glory. It was the completion of all that His Father sent Him to do. Jesus’ return will be the next revelation of His glory to man.
But once you start looking for these hints then...
In John 2:1-2 there is the wedding feast described as “On the third day”, but with nothing to suggest what this time started from. Is the third day – the wedding feast – the third millennium after His crucifixion? The millennium reign!
In John 4:39 Jesus remained two days with the Samaritans and then returned to His home county in Galilee. In the same way there will be two thousand years to preach to the Gentile nations and Jesus will return and establish His rule and reign.
John 12:1 says that Jesus came to Bethany – where Lazarus was raised from the dead, 6 days before the Passover. Is this 6 thousand years since Adam was raised up out of the dust-of-the-earth?
In Matthew 17:1, Jesus goes up a high mountain where he was transfigured and Moses and Elijah appeared. This was 6 days after a reference to his return in Matthew 16:28. Mark 9:1-2 describes the same 6 days between the declaration of seeing the kingdom of God come in power and the transfiguration.
John 11:17 describes Lazarus as in the tomb for 4 days before he was raised. So too man was bound over to sin (death) for the 4 millennia from Adam to Jesus resurrection.
So 2 days, the third day, 4 days, 6 days ...it all points to God’s timetable!