Third Day Perfection
Wade E Taylor

“And He said to them, Go you, and tell that fox, Behold, I cast out devils, and I do cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I shall be perfected.”  Luke 13:32

Peter tells us a day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as a day.  Thus, when Jesus said, “today and tomorrow,” it can be understood that He is speaking prophetically of the Church Age - which is two thousand years.  The third day is the Millennial Day.  During this “third day,” Jesus said, “I will be perfected.”

We are the “Body of Christ.”  Jesus is seated at the right hand of all power, at the throne of God in heaven.  We are here as a “head-less” body.  Jesus is in heaven, as a “body-less” head.  The perfection that Jesus speaks of, is that in the “third day,” the head and the body will come together as being one.

We are living very close to the end of the “second day,” the time of the closing out of the Church Age.  God computes time differently than we do.  Our time is figured in 365-day years.  Biblical time is computed in 360-day years.  Six days were given to man.  The seventh day was the Sabbath, the Lord's Day.  The Jubilee year (50th year) came after seven-week years (7 times 7 = 49 years), when alienated lands returned to the original owners and Hebrew bondservants were freed.  The fiftieth jubilee (70 times 7) came at the end of 490 years.  In our calendar time, this is a 500-year period of time.  In the Lord's timing in the Church Age, we are at the end of the fourth jubilee - the fourth 500-year period, consisting of 490 years each, which means that at this present time, we are at the end of the two thousand years of the Church Age.

Many dates have been set for end-time occurrences, and these have come and gone.  But, there is a specific time frame for the purposes of our Lord to be fulfilled in the end-time, which is known only by Him.  We deal in calendar days and time, while the Lord deals in “seasons.”  When a farmer sows seed into his field (which the seed package says will mature in 90 days), he cannot mark his calendar, and then harvest the field at the end of these ninety days.

Rather, the maturity of this crop is dependent on the amount of sun, rain, and favorable temperatures, which will greatly affect the growth of the crop.  Therefore, the Lord looks at the crop with a trained eye, as He knows when the field has reached the desired level of maturity for harvest.  There are many indications that we are the generation that will be ready for harvest, which opportunity no past generation has had.  Thus, the time of intervention is not a date, but the time in which the “Body” has reached the desired level of spiritual maturity, so as to be joined to the mature head, Jesus.

“His head and His hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and His eyes were as a flame of fire; And His feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and His voice as the sound of many waters.”  Revelation 1:14-15

The Laodicean Church is the last of the seven churches listed in the book of Revelation.  When we come to the Laodicean Church, we are in the time of the end-time church.  During this present generation, there has been a major emphasis on prosperity.  The word tells us that the Laodicean Church is “rich and increased in goods,” which is an indication that we are living in the time of the last church.

“Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me.”  Revelation 3:20

For many years, I have said that this door was closed because they were primarily interested in the “things” of God (rich and in need of nothing), rather than the God of the things.  The Lord is not outside the Laodicean church trying to get back in.  Rather, the door is closed because this is the end of the Church Age, and there is only one-way to go - “up.”

“And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking...”  Genesis 3:8

Voices do not walk, but this one does, as this “voice walking” is intended to tell us two things.  First, Adam and Eve had transgressed and were hiding, but they still “heard” His voice.  No matter what our state of being in life may be, the Lord has something to say to us.  Second, the voice is “walking,” which tells us that “what” the Lord will say tomorrow will be beyond what He said today.  The Lord both moves and speaks progressively.

He walked the “first” thousand years and called Noah.  He walked the “second” thousand years, and Abram was called to go out from Ur of the Chaldees.  He became Abraham, the friend of God through a personal visitation from the Lord.  As He walked the “third” thousand years, Solomon's temple was dedicated in visible glory.  At the end of the “fourth” thousand years, John the Baptist was called into the wilderness to be prepared to introduce the Messiah.

The Lord continued to walk through the two days of the Church Age.  At the end of the first day of the Church Age, the Nicolaitans had gained control, and the dark ages resulted.  Then Martin Luther and the Reformation began to bring a new ray of light as the Lord continued to walk.  Toward the end of the second day, the Pentecostal movement was born and we are entering the end-times with fresh new understanding.

We are near the end of the six days of man's time, and Jesus is still walking.  At this present time, there are those who are “walking with Him” into fresh and greater understanding (few).  But there are also those who have stayed within each level of restored understanding (many), and persecute those who have gone further.

“For many are called, but few are chosen.”  Matthew 22:14

We are approaching the end of the sixth day, and the birthing of the seventh (Millennial) day.  Satan deceived Adam and Eve and gained control of this present world-order.  At this present time, the Lord is quietly preparing a people who will defeat Satan.  The Lord will use the very ones whom Satan deceived, to defeat him.

As the Lord walks onward during this present hour, He is beginning to restore His glory, which Peter, James, and John, saw on the Mount of Transfiguration.  This restored glory will bring the judgments of God to cleanse the earth.  To the saint, this will be “revival.”  To those controlled by the world, it will be “tribulation.”

“The same day there came certain of the Pharisees, saying to Him, Get You out, and depart from here: for Herod will kill You. And He said to them, Go you, and tell that fox, Behold, I cast out devils, and I do cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I shall be perfected. Nevertheless I must walk today, and tomorrow, and the day following.”  Luke 13:31-33a

There are also three days in our personal relationship with the Lord.  We were “called” (first day), and are being “made ready” (second day).  We are approaching the time when we will be “lifted” into a higher realm of spiritual authority, with consequence (third day).  This “perfection” is the body made fully ready for the Head to come and take His place, to be seen as a corporate body in all the world.  We are being made ready to be so transparent, that in “that day,” Jesus only will be seen through our lives.  Our life will have become the expression of His life.

“Behold, I stand at the door and knock.”  Revelation 3:20a

The Lord has walked to the end of the Church Age, and now He is calling those who have chosen Him above all else, to come apart to Him - those who are spiritually hungry, are available for His purposes, and desire something more.  This speaks of intimacy of relationship.

The Lord is beginning His “return.”  This is not an all-at-once manifestation of the risen and glorified Jesus, but rather a gradual increase of His manifest presence, which precedes His person.  Because we are His body, there is a deeper preparation that must take place.

“And His feet like to fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and His voice as the sound of many waters.”  Revelation 1:15

We are the “feet” that have been perfected in fire, which will bring Jesus into open view in His “Parousia” (end-time manifestation of His presence that will result in visitation and tribulation).  This speaks of the intensity of His dealings in our lives.  Brass is a combination of two materials, zinc and copper, united in intense heat.  So also the divine (Jesus) and us, are united in intense dealings, and our voice becomes His corporate voice - “the sound of many waters.”

“After this I looked, and behold a door was opened in heaven.”  Revelation 4:1a

Jesus (also us) has walked as far as He can go in the earth realm.  The door is closed and He is knocking because He can go no further.  The only way to go, is up into the heavens (Millennial Kingdom).

“And the first voice which I heard was, as it were, of a trumpet.”  Revelation 4:1b

This is a heavenly voice giving the call to “come up.”  This is not words that we understand, but a spirit call to a higher realm, into which only those who have “ears to hear” will respond.

“Come up here and I will show you things which must be hereafter.”  Revelation 4:1c

This speaks of the end of the “Church Age” and the time of transition into the “Millennial Kingdom Age.”  This has nothing to do with the antichrist - who he is and what he does, but rather, our part in the transition from the Church into the Kingdom - “I will show you.”

“Who has ears to hear, let him hear. And the disciples came, and said to Him, Why speak You to them in parables? He answered and said to them, Because it is given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.”  Matthew 13:9-11

Are you one of these who can hear the “voice of the Lord walking?”