Christians
are by definition an “Easter people;” our faith rests on the reality expressed
in the creedal statement AND ROSE AGAIN ON THE THIRD DAY IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE
SCRIPTURES.
It
is a mistake to read THE THIRD DAY as a simple reference to earthly time as if
one were dating the resurrection event seventy-two hours after Good
Friday. The phrase is filled with deeper
meaning. It is an end-time expression
linked to the saving action of God in the person of the crucified Jesus. To the Jewish way of thinking, “the third
day” or “after three days” had a special significance even in everyday
speech. It represents a turning point in
the course of human events. In no less
than thirty places the Hebrew Scriptures employ the phrase to indicate a
critical moment when one thing is definitively concluded and a new thing
begins.
The
Lord instructs Moses to have the people, “… ready for the third day.” “On the third day” Esther begins her task of
delivering Israel , and “on
the third day” Israel
The
Creed goes on to say “HIS KINGDOM WILL HAVE NO END.” This phrase was added specifically to condemn
those who said that Christ would come again to set up a worldly,
political kingdom based in Jerusalem
Those
who signed on to this heresy saw the reign of Christ as being composed of two
kingdoms: an earthly one that would last for a thousand years, and the second
and eternal one to follow the final defeat of Satan. The Council of Nicaea rejected this notion
outright.
We
understand and believe that when Jesus comes again it will be to usher in the
end-times where he WILL JUDGE THE LIVING AND THE DEAD.
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