PMW 2026-035 by David Schrock

Gentry note: The article below is excellent, showing that the revelation of the Lord’s third day resurrection begins in Genesis 1. Insightful! This article is taken from “Christ Over All.”

On the Third Day: Seeing Resurrection from Beginning to End

Waking from sleep. Seeds sprouting through the earth. New life emerging in Spring. Children entering the world through the breaking of water.

These and other images are used in the Bible to described the glorious reality of resurrection and related doctrines. For instance, Jesus says in John 12:24, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” Similarly, Paul speaks of the mortal body as a seed that is buried in dishonor and raised in glory (1 Cor. 15:42–49). Or, consider how waking from sleep is compared to the resurrection when Paul says in Ephesians 5:14: “Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”

This light-giving testimony emerges from a host of Old Testament texts (e.g., Isa. 51:17; 52:1; 60:1; Mal. 4:2), as the theme of waking from sleep becomes a wonderful euphemism for the believers’ death in the New Testament (see Matt. 27:52; John 11:11; 1 Cor. 15:6, 18, 20, 51; 1 Thess. 4:13–15, etc.). But it is not only waking from sleep, or seeds sprouting to life that captures the wonder of resurrection; there are a host of other creational images that pair with resurrection, too. For instance, Jesus is called the firstborn from the dead in Colossians 1:18 and Revelation 1:5. And equally, Jesus calls himself the true vine (John 15:1), from which his branches will sprout forth and bear fruit.

Long story short, imagery surrounding the resurrection of Christ and his people is not lacking in the New Testament. And as we have considered throughout this month at Christ Over All, evidence for resurrection is not lacking in the Old Testament either. For as Paul outlines his gospel in 1 Corinthians 15:3–5, he says that Christ “was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures.”

As Stephen Dempster and Nicholas Lunn have shown in their masterful essays on the third day in the Old Testament, there emerges in the storyline of Scripture an anticipation that redemption, hope, and life are found on the third day.[1] For instance, Isaac is received back from the dead on the third day (Gen. 22:4). The Lord met with his people on Sinai (Exod. 19:11). Jonah is returned to the land on the third day (Jonah 1:17). These and more than twenty other third day “resurrections” can be found in the Old Testament, and they set a trajectory toward the third day resurrection of Christ.[2]

As It Is Written: The Genesis Account Literal or Literary?
Book by Ken Gentry

Presents the exegetical evidence for Six-day Creation and against the Framework Hypothesis. Strong presentation and rebuttal to the Framework Hypothesis, while demonstrating and defending the Six-day Creation interpretation.

See more study materials at: www.KennethGentry.com

Yet, in what follows I will argue that this pattern of third life is grounded in creation itself, and not a later feature of redemptive history. While Christ’s resurrection is regularly observed to be the dawning of the new creation, it less often observed that creation itself, especially Genesis 1:9–13, points to the resurrection. But it does, and in what follows, I will make a connection between the third day in creation and the new creation that comes in Christ’s resurrection. But before making the argument, let me offer three observations on the structure Genesis 1:9–13, for these three textual features will guide our steps between creation and Christ.

Three Structural Observations on Genesis 1:9–13

In Genesis 1:9–13, Moses reports the work of God on the third day of creation. And by comparison to the other days of the creation week (especially Days 1 and 2), we can observe at least three unique features.[3]

First, Day 3 has two sections.

In Day 3, the first section consists of the division of dry land from the sea (Gen. 1:9–10). The second section describes the planting of grains and fruit trees (Gen. 1:11–12). This double act of creation on Day 3 stands out in comparison with Days 1 and 2, where each day only had one speech-act ordering creation.[4]

Second, Day 3 repeats “and God saw that it was good” in verse 10 and verse 12.

This double statement makes us look back of Day 2, where we find that there was no mention of goodness on the Second Day. Easily missed with only a quick reading, this pattern of Good (Day 1), Silence (Day 2), and Double Good (Day 3) is the first key that unlocks this section, and we will revisit it momentarily.

Third, Day 3 is the first day to fill the earth.

In Days 1 and 2, we find the separation of light and darkness, followed by the separation of heaven and earth. Or more exactly, Day 2 presents the separation of the waters above the firmament from the waters below it. In Day 3, we have another separation of Land and Sea, but we also have the creation of plants and fruit-bearing trees. This means that Days 1–3 are not simply dedicated to forming the earth, for Day 3 begins to fill the earth, even as Days 4–6 will do the same.

So, as we press into the connections between the third day of creation and Christ’s third day resurrection, these are three observations we need to keep in mind as we read Genesis 1:9–13.

[§ 1] 9 And God said, “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.” And it was so. 10 God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. [1] And God saw that it was good.
[§ 2] 11 And God said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, on the earth.” And it was so. 12 The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their own kinds, and trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind. [2] And God saw that it was good.
13 And there was evening and there was morning, the third day.

From these five verses emerge a number of textual features that point forward to Christ’s resurrection. Yet, to see them it is vital to read the text the right way. In other words, there are, in my estimation, admissible and inadmissible ways to “find” Christ’s resurrection in Genesis 1:9–13. And so, before making a constructive argument from the text, let me share a few methodological commitments.

Have We Missed the Second Coming:
A Critique of the Hyper-preterist Error

by Ken Gentry

This book offers a brief introduction, summary, and critique of Hyper-preterism. Don’t let your church and Christian friends be blindfolded to this new error. To be forewarned is to be forearmed.

For more Christian educational materials: www.KennethGentry.com

Reading Genesis 1

As we begin to look at Genesis 1, it is worth asking: How should we read this passage? Is Genesis 1 history? Or symbolism? Or something of both?

I have already revealed my hand by saying that the third day in creation is connected to the theme of resurrection on the third day. But it is worth asking: Is this what the author intended? Or is this my own imaginative reading?

If you believe Genesis 1 is history—as I do—this does not eliminate the possibility or potentiality that embedded in creation are types, patterns, and shadows that prefigure later events in history. Indeed, the Bible is filled with real history and a real creation, which in turn creates real symbols and prophetic signs that point forward to future glories. So, in answer to the question—How should we read Genesis 1:9–13?—I have two commitments.

[1] Genesis 1 is not written as purely symbolical, nor should we interpret it allegorically.

[2] Genesis 1 contains historical events, persons, and things that were created by God to institute patterns (types) for the rest of creation, Scripture, and redemptive history.

Let me explain.

[1] Genesis 1 is not written as purely symbolical, nor should we interpret it allegorically.

Allegory is the practice of saying this thing (in the Bible) means that thing (outside of the Bible). For instance, Origen once said that the dry land of Day 3 was good deeds done in the body, and the waters under heaven were the sins and vices we must separate ourselves from.[5] That is certainly clever, and it may even cohere with Christian doctrine or ethics, but that allegorical reading ignores the main point of Genesis 1—namely, how God made the world. And accordingly, such a reading of Genesis 1 minimizes the historical fact of creation and invites readers to look for symbols under every rock.

Yet, Origen is not alone. Matthew Henry does something similar. In his popular commentary, Henry allegorizes Genesis 1:9–13 when he says, “Many of God’s gifts are received in vain, because they are buried… [and one must] make them to appear, [so that] they become serviceable.”[6] That too sounds profound, but I have no idea what it means, because Henry doesn’t say how to make buried gifts emerge from the ground. Nor, does he explain how the Genesis account offers such a moral compass.

To repeat: Genesis 1 reveals what God did in the beginning, and while men made in his image are to imitate him, God alone is the creator. And that means that he alone can make the dry land appear, and there is nothing here for humans to imitate in any material way. Rather, this passage reveals something about God, what God did, and perhaps what God can and will do again—if there is a new creation.

[2] Genesis 1 contains historical events, persons, and things that were created by God to institute patterns (types) for the rest of creation, Scripture, and redemptive history.

For those who are familiar with biblical typology, this second commitment should be familiar.[7] But let me illustrate it with respect to resurrection. In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul says Christ’s resurrection is the firstfruits of the resurrection harvest. Until that final day of resurrection, the body of believers is like a seed planted in the ground—a seed that is buried perishable but raised imperishable. Paul is using imagery from creation to speak of the new creation reality of resurrection.

And where does he get this imagery? Multiple places, but it begins with the creation week. If the resurrection is a new creation reality, then it is fitting that the creation week informs the resurrection—and that includes resurrection on the third day, when fruit of the ground springs forth into life, just like the fruit-bearing trees on Day 3.

In other words, what God did in creation and what Moses wrote in Genesis 1 provides a pattern of resurrection life that we find throughout the rest of the Bible. When man fell into sin, God did not look around at his creation to see what he could do. God is not like a cosmic MacGyver, a quick-fix inventor who makes a plan of salvation with whatever random circumstance he finds on the ground.[8] No, far better: God filled his world with land and sea, trees and seeds, so that he could give us categories to explain to us the meaning of resurrection—a reality planned by God before the creation of the world (cf. 1 Pet. 1:20).

Putting the pieces together, then, this reading of Genesis 1 is not allegory, but typology. And in the creation of the world, God separated land and sea and planted seed-bearing trees, just as Genesis 1:9–13 says. Yet, hidden in plain sight is a pattern of resurrection life that would be revealed in the fulness of time, such that looking back to creation from Easter Sunday, we can now see how God’s words in Genesis 1:9–13 were charged with resurrection life. And this is true in general, but also with great detail, as we will now see from the next three evidences of resurrection.

THE APOCALYPSE OF JOHN
by Milton S. Terry
This book is Terry’s preterist commentary on the Book of Revelation. It was originally the last half of his much larger work, Biblical Apocalyptics. It is deeply-exegetical, tightly-argued, and clearly-presented.

For more study materials: https://www.kennethgentry.com/

Dry Land ‘Appeared’

In Genesis 1:9–10, Moses speaks of how the waters are pushed back and dry land emerges. Interestingly, the language for dry land is used throughout the Old Testament to speak of the land that God created in events like Israel passing through the Red Sea or crossing the Jordan River.

For instance, Exodus 15:19 reads, “For when the horses of Pharaoh with his chariots and his horsemen went into the sea, the Lord brought back the waters of the sea upon them, but the people of Israel walked on dry ground in the midst of the sea.” Or consider Joshua 4. When Israel walked through the flooded waters of the Jordan, verse 22 says, “then you shall let your children know, ‘Israel passed over this Jordan on dry ground.’”[9]

In later periods of redemption, God re-enacted the creation event of Day 3. When the Red Sea stood before Israel, God created the dry land as a bridge of salvation. Likewise, when the flood waters of the Jordan River blocked Israel’s path to the promised land, God made dry land in the middle of the river.

In short, God alone is able to make dry land, just as Psalm 24 says of the earth: “For he has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the rivers.” Or as Psalm 33:7 says of the seas: “He gathers the waters of the sea as a heap.” Indeed, God is the one who controls all things, including the emergence of dry land coming through the waters, which also prefigures resurrection in at least two ways.

First, the dry land coming up out of the water anticipates the creation of humanity. As Genesis 2:7 indicates, God formed the man from the dust of the earth. This dust comes from the dry land, which appears on Day 3. So, reading Genesis 1 and 2 together, it is not out of bounds to see how this emergence of dry land points us towards the creation of mankind, or how the resurrection of Christ can be spoken of with respect to the formation of man (“firstborn from the dead”). Certainly, this formation of the dry land is not sufficient for making a connection with the resurrection, but it is necessary, because there can be no human life without the dry land coming up from the waters.[10]

Even more stunning, however, is the fact that the water events in the Bible—which are often called “baptisms”—use imagery that matches Genesis 1:9–10. When Noah passed through the waters of judgment in the Flood, Peter likened it to baptism (1 Pet. 3:21). Likewise, Paul says that Israel was “baptized into Moses in the cloud and the sea” (1 Cor. 10:2). Equally, baptism into Christ, according to Romans 6:3–4, is a death and resurrection. All told, the life that comes on the other side of God’s judgment-waters is a pattern that runs through the Bible, but this resurrection life seen first in Genesis 1:9–10.

In fact, the resurrection becomes more visible on Day 3 when we consider the word “appear” in verse 9 and how Paul uses that word in 1 Corinthians 15. As Paul describes the resurrection of Christ in verses 4–6, he uses the word “appear” twice. “Christ was raised from the dead on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive.”

Now, Paul could simply be using the word “appear” in a general sense. But two things stand out. (1) He could have used a number of other words to speak of Christ showing himself after his resurrection, but he doesn’t. He uses the word horaō, which is the same word used in Genesis 1:9–10 (LXX). (2) We know that Paul was explaining the resurrection of Christ in 1 Corinthians 15 by connecting it to Genesis 1. How do we know? Because, creation themes run through the whole of the chapter. As Nicholas Lunn summarizes it.

“In [1 Corinthians 15:]39–41 he [Paul] lists the various elements created on Days 4–6 (Gen. 1:14–27) in exact reverse order (men, animals, birds, fish, heavenly bodies). Since Paul definitely had these other days of creation in mind, it is extremely plausible that he was also contemplating Day 3 in the context.”[11]

The Book of Revelation and Postmillennialism (Lectures by Ken Gentry)

In the first of these three 50-minute lectures Gentry explains Revelation’s judgments to show they do not contradict postmillennialism. In the next two lectures he shows how the Millennium and the New Creation themes strongly support the gospel victory hope found in postmillennialism.

See more study materials at: www.KennethGentry.com

If this reading holds, then what we have in the inspired words of Paul is an explanation of the resurrection of Christ as a new creation and one that is intended to mirror the first creation. For in that first creation, the appearance of dry land is not only historical and real; it is typological in the way that it prepares us for seeing the later and greater reality of God’s power to raise the dead. So, this is one lexical connection that stands between Genesis 1:9–13 and 1 Corinthians 15….

To finish reading the article and to see the footnotes: https://christoverall.com/article/longform/on-the-third-day-seeing-resurrection-from-beginning-to-end/