what is a Third Day Christain?

Answer 1

        There are basically two schools of thought on the length of time between Christ's Death and Resurrection. If you search the King James Version of the New Testament for the phrase "the third day," you'll get 20 hits. One of those hits (Luke 13:32) is Christ's prophecy concerning His three and one-half year (a day for a year) ministry. Another of those hits (John 2:1) regards the timing of the Marriage at Cana. Another of those hits (Acts 27:19) regards the voyage of Paul in which the ship was wrecked but nobody was injured.

        The rest of those hits (13 of them) are either Christ's own predictive words or other's indicative remarks concerning Christ's Resurrection on the third day following His Crucifixion and Death. This "the third day" phrase meant, and still today means, "the day after tomorrow." Meaning, Christ died on Friday and rose on Sunday. That is one school of thought -- and the most Biblically sound.

        The other school of thought gets hung up by the single occurrence in the New Testament where Jesus says the following:

Mat. 12:38 Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee.
Mat. 12:39 But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonah:
Mat. 12:40 For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
Mat. 12:41 The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and, behold, a greater than Jonah is here.
Mat. 12:42 The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here.

        From this, they argue that Christ had to be in the grave at least part of three days and three nights. Thus, for example, you get people saying that Passover had to be on Thursday that year. Others say it was on Wednesday and that Christ actually resurrected just before sundown on Saturday evening. Others say that He didn't have to actually be in the grave -- He just had to be under the control of the powers which were driving the Crucifixion process. Thus, the time period from His arrest Thursday night to Sunday morning would be parts of three nights and three days.

        But, the solution is easier than that. Note what Christ said was the example which Jonah gave. He said that the people of Nineveh would rise up in the last day to condemn the wicked because, at the preaching of Jonah, the Ninevites accepted the knowledge of Jonah's God as the True God, repented, and were spared. He also gave the example that the Queen of the South (Sheba) would rise up in the last day to condemn the wicked because, at the testimony of Solomon, the Queen of the South accepted the knowledge of Solomon's God as the True God.

        Hence, note that Jonah's preaching wasn't done from the belly of the whale. The Ninevites didn't even know Jonah existed, nor hear his preaching, until after Jonah had come out of the belly of the whale. Thus, Jesus' Testimony, from the Cross (John 12:27-33), would also be *after* the three days and three nights. There must be something in the typical service which gives us a clue.

        Since Christ's Sacrifice was typified as the Passover Lamb, what did the Passover Lamb have to go through *before* the actual Day of Passover? If you check back in the Old Testament, you'll find that the Passover Lamb was selected on the 10th day and its freedom restricted for three days and three nights before being sacrificed on the 14th day. So, how was it with Christ?

        If you examine the Gospel record, you'll find that the day on which Judas actually accepted the 30 pieces of silver from the Pharisees was also the 10th day of the month. From that day, Christ restricted His movements to the holy grounds of Jerusalem (spiritually, the holy grounds of Jerusalem are the "heart of the earth") until His arrest. He did this to fulfill the three days and three nights in which the Passover Lamb was restricted as part of the typical service.

God bless.

Answer 2

I would assume that it's a Christian who believes that Jesus rose from the dead on the third day.

By the way, the band Third Day rocks!

Answer 3

Is that a member of the band third day.

Answer 4

One that believes the Messiah rose on the third day after death. There are other opinions when it gets specific.