Third Day church

by Matt Slick

Third Day theology is a prophetic movement within Christianity that focuses on biblical scriptures that mention the phrase "third day" and seeks to apply what it sees are the benefits and promises of those scriptures for our time.  Adherents claim that the third day is now, the third thousand years of Christ's reign.  Sequentially, the third day follows the first and second days.  The first day is where we leave the old ways behind.  The second day is the process of holding onto the promises of God that have not yet been fulfilled.  Day three is the victory and receiving of the promises of God with an emphasis on personal development and spiritual improvement.  Therefore, a third day church is a church that is looking for new ways to "do church" by leaving the old ways and moving onto the new ones that will be revealed, allegedly, by the Holy Spirit unto greater spiritual growth and prosperity.  Generally, Third Day Churches are charismatic, pentecostal, emphasize present day apostles, prophets, prophetic utterances, and approve of women pastors.

Some examples of scriptures used in Third Day Churches and how they are applied is as follows:

• Gen. 22:4, "Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off."

  • The context is Abraham offering Isaac.  Prophetically, God provided the Son, therefore, the church will see an great influx of believes.

• Ezra 6:15 - "And this house was finished on the third day of the month Adar, which was in the sixth year of the reign of Darius the king."

  • The Temple of God was finished on the third day; therefore, the church will experience more fulfillment of the calling of God.

• John 2:1, "And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee; and the mother of Jesus was there."

  • In this account, Jesus creates wine for a wedding.  Therefore, new works of God will develop in the church in people and in ministries.

Is this biblical?

I do believe in patterns in the Bible and at first was intrigued by the "third day" idea.  However, the "third day theme" of blessing isn't biblically consistent with the use of the phrase throughout Scripture. Because it isn't, in order to maintain their distinction and emphasis, third day churches must read into the text more than they read out of it. This is a serious problem and should be abandoned by the Christian church.  Compare the following verses with those above as proof that "third day" scriptures are not always about God blessing the church.