Swedenborg Arcana Caelestia Vol. III (1750)

2788. On the third day—that this signifies the completion and the beginning of sanctification, is evident from the signification of the "third day." A "day" in the Word signifies a state (n. 23, 487, 488, 493, 893), as does a "year," and in general all periods of time, such as an hour, day, week, month, year, or age; and similarly morning, noon, evening, night; or spring, summer, autumn, winter. When the number three or the third is added to these, they signify the end of that state and, at the same time, the beginning of the following state. Here, because it treats of the Lord’s sanctification, which was accomplished through temptations, the "third day" signifies the completion and, at the same time, the beginning of sanctification, as follows from the preceding passages. The reason for this signification is that the Lord, when He had fulfilled all things, rose again on the third day. For whatever was done or would be done by the Lord while He lived in the world was represented in the representative rites of the Church as if it had already happened; for in the internal sense of the Word, with God, "to be" and "to become" are the same, indeed all eternity is present to Him.

Hence, the number three was representative, not only in the Ancient Church and the Jewish Church, but also among various nations (see what has been said about this number in n. 720, 901, 1825). That it has this origin is evident from Hosea: "They will return to Jehovah, for He has torn, and He will heal us; He has struck, and He will bind us up. He will revive us after two days; on the third day He will raise us up, that we may live before Him" (vi:1, 2), where the "third day" refers to the coming of the Lord and the resurrection. And from Jonah, who was in the belly of the fish for three days and three nights (Jonah ii:1), concerning which the Lord says in Matthew: "As Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth" (xii:40). It should be known that in the internal sense of the Word, "three days" and "the third day" signify the same thing, as do "three" and "the third" in the passages that follow.

In John: "Jesus said to the Jews, 'Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.' He was speaking of the temple of His body" (ii:19–21; Matt. xxvi:61; Mark xiv:58; xv:29). That the Lord rose on the third day is well known. For this reason, the Lord also divided the times of His life into three, as in Luke: "Go, tell that fox, 'Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I shall be perfected'" (xiii:32). The Lord endured the final temptation, which was of the cross, at the third hour of the day (Mark xv:25). "And after three hours darkness came over the whole earth, that is, at the sixth hour" (Luke xxiii:44). "And after three hours, that is, at the ninth hour, was the end" (Mark xv:33, 34, 37). "And early on the third day He rose again" (Mark xvi:1–4; Luke xxiv:7; see Matt. xvi:21; xvii:22, 23; xx:18, 19; Mark ix:31; viii:31; x:33, 34; Luke xviii:33; xxiv:46). Hence, and primarily from the Lord’s resurrection on the third day, the number three became representative and significant. That it was so is evident from these places in the Word: "When Jehovah descended upon Mount Sinai, He said to Moses, that they should sanctify..."