And we'll have you turn to the book of the Revelation, chapter number 1, first. Tonight, I think I mentioned Sunday, that we were going to look at 3, 5, and 6. Well, we're going to be doing good if we can get through 3. We're probably not going to get through 3. You've only got one handout. I've got the other handout down here if I decide to go to it, if we get that far. But we're looking at the number three, and the number three is number of resurrection, of divine completeness, and perfection is used 467 times in scripture. Three is the number of the Holy Trinity, and is the first of the four perfect numbers. The other three being seven, 10, and 12, which we'll explain that when we get to those. We know, of course, that God has expressed himself in the Holy Trinity, God the Father God the Son, God the Holy Spirit. Three persons. Three carries the thought of the divine. It could be said to mean God is in it. Okay? God is in it. And we'll see that as we go through tonight. The relation of Jehovah to eternity is given in the threefold expression here in Revelation 1 and verse number 8. where the Lord Jesus says, I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord. And here it is, here's the three things, which is, And which was, and which is to come, the Almighty. Which is, that's the present. Which was, talking about eternity past. He always has been. And which is to come, always shall be. Amen. He's the Jehovah God. Now, in reference to the Lord Jesus Christ, many things could be said, and you see a lot of threes that come up in the Lord's life. We know that three times a voice from heaven spake in response to Christ, the first being at his baptism. When he was being baptized by John the Baptist, a voice came from heaven, said, this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. And that's Matthew 3 and verse 17. Then when the Lord Jesus was at the Mount of Transfiguration with his disciples, there a voice came and also said, this is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased, hear ye Him. Okay, and then a look at John chapter number 12. This one's not known as much as the other two, but in John chapter number 12, in verse number 28, this is right after Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem. In John 12 and verse number 28, Verse number 28. Let's back up to verse number 27. Christ said, Now is my soul troubled, and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour. But for this cause came I, unto this hour. He's talking about the upcoming. He knew that he was fixing to face the cross. Fixing to be crucified. And that would be troubling. If you understand what the crucifixion is, it's a very unpleasant thing. An unpleasant way to die. And we see him pray in verse number 28. Father, glorify thy name. Then came there a voice from heaven saying, I have both glorified it and will glorify it again." So, three times a voice from heaven spake in response to the Lord Jesus Christ. Also, look at Luke chapter 4. back up to Luke 4, and there Christ's great temptation in the wilderness came also in a threefold way, and Luke chapter 4 and verse number 3, we see He was attacked in the area of the lust of the flesh. I mean, after 40 days of fasting, What is he going to be? He's going to be hungry, right? He's going to be hungry. It's like Booker's already hungry. He's waiting for me to get done here tonight so he can go out and eat. I'm just kidding with him. You and Tom, right. We see here the Lord Jesus Christ. He's been 40 days. I can't imagine, 40 days. attempted of the devil during that 40 days, and it says there in verse number 2, and in those days he did eat nothing, and when they were ended, he afterward hungered. Yeah, that would be pretty obvious, right? He hungered. And the devil said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, command this stone that it be made bread. Jesus answered him, saying, It is written that man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God. So we see Satan was trying to appeal with the lust of the flesh. And then we see that Satan tried to appeal with the lust of the eyes there in verse number 6 and 7. Let's go to verse number 5. And the devil taken him up into a high mountain, showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them, for that is delivered unto me, and to whomsoever I will give it. But when the Lord Jesus Christ arose from the grave, there was a transfer of power in that. In Matthew 28, 18, Jesus said, All power is given me in heaven and in earth. What he was trying to do was get him to bypass the cross. You can go ahead and have your kingdom. You can have your kingdom right now here on the earth. Well, he's going to have a kingdom one day. He's going to have a literal kingdom on this earth for a literal 1,000-year period. But he wasn't going to fall for that. He wasn't going to bow to the devil. He said, verse number 7, If thou wilt worship me, all shall be thine. Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan, for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. Lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, by offering him the kingdoms of the world, and then the pride of life. Try to get him to jump off the pinnacle of the temple. Look at verse number 9, And he brought him to Jerusalem, and set him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down from hence. For it is written, He shall give his angels charge over thee to keep thee, And in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou shalt dash thy foot against a stone." And Jesus answering said unto him, it is said, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. Of course, he was trying to get him to do the spectacular there. The word says that this is going to be about you, so why don't you just show everybody? Just jump off the temple and let's see it in action. That's the pride of life, and Jesus didn't fall for it. When the devil had ended all the temptation, he departed from him for a season. and the wilderness came in a three-fold way. We know that Christ is the way, the truth, and the life. John 14 verse 6, as he was talking to his disciples, he revealed himself as being that. That's a three-fold. way. Christ raised three men from the dead during his earthly ministry with a widow of Nain's son in Luke chapter 7 verse number 11 through 15. Jairus' daughter in Luke 8 verse 41 through 55. And Lazarus, his friend Lazarus in John chapter 11, and that last one is the one that really stirred up the Pharisees against the Lord Jesus Christ more than the others. I mean, they were always stirred up against him, but they were so stirred up about Lazarus, I mean, it was very obvious. Lazarus had been dead for four days. Somebody said, well, he's probably stinking by now. No problem for the Lord. He called him forth. He said, Lazarus, come forth. Some other preachers said, well, if he hadn't said, Lazarus, come forth, everybody in the grave would have come out. If he just got out there to the graveyard and said, y'all come forth, all of them would have been alive, right? He said, Lazarus, come forth. But Christ raised three from the dead during his earthly ministry. Christ prayed three prayers in the Garden of Gethsemane. Look at Matthew chapter number six. And we're not turning to all of these passages, but we're turning to some select ones here. In Matthew 26, in the Garden of Gethsemane, the Lord Jesus Christ is there, and we know that he had Peter, James, and John in the inner area with him. And look at verse number 37. Well, look at verse 36. Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here while I go and pray yonder. And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee and began to be sorrowful and very heavy. Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful even unto death, tarry ye here and watch with me. And he went a little further and fell on his face. and prayed, there's the first time, saying, Oh, my father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me. Nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou will. May we see here the pain of his approaching agony. I mean, it was real. I mean, He was human. He was God. 100% God, 100% human, except without sin. Verse 40, And he cometh unto the disciples, findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What? Could you not watch with me one hour? Watch, and pray, that ye enter not into temptation. The Spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. And he went away again the second time, prayed, saying, O my Father, this cup may not pass away from me except I drink it. Thy will be done. And he came and found them asleep again, for their eyes were heavy. And he left them and went away again and prayed the third time, saying the same words." So, three prayers there prior to his crucifixion, prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane. We know that pilot said three times. that he found no fault in Christ. He examined the Lord Jesus Christ and said, I find no fault in him. In one place he said, I bring him forth unto you so that you may know that I find no fault in him. He found no fault in Christ. I've given you the references there. Three times he declares that. There was a three-fold rejection of Christ by the people while he was before Pilate. Look at Luke 23. Luke 23. Let's look at verse number 13. And Pilate, when he had called together the chief priests and the rulers and the people, said unto them, Ye have brought this man unto me, as one that perverted the people, and behold, I have examined him before you, and have found no fault in this man touching those things whereof ye accuse him. No, nor yet, Herod, for I sent you to him, and lo, nothing worthy of death is done unto him. I will therefore chastise him and release him, for of necessity he must release one of them at the feast. And here we see the first rejection of Christ. Verse 18, They cried out all at once, saying, Away with this man, and release unto us Barabbas. who for a certain sedition made in the city and for murder was cast into prison. Pilate therefore willing to release Jesus, spake unto them, but they cried, saying, Crucify him, crucify him. There's the second one. And he said unto them the third time, Why, what evil hath he done? I have found no cause of death in him. I will therefore chastise him, and let him go. And they were instant with loud voices, requiring that he might be crucified. And the voices of them and of the chief priests prevailed and Pilate gave the sentence that it should be as they required. So they called for his crucifixion and rejected him three times. There were also, we know, three times that Peter denied the Lord Jesus Christ in Luke chapter number 22 and verse number 54 through verse number 62. And we know that Christ was crucified also at the third hour according to Mark 15 verse 25. And we know that there were three hours of darkness when Christ was on the cross, according to Luke 23 and verse number 43. You're there in Luke 23, look down to verse number 43 and you'll see that. It says in Jesus, let's see here, got the wrong thing on there. Got the wrong reference, looks like. Sometimes that happens. Verse 44, it was about the sixth hour and there was darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour. Should have had 44 on there instead of 43. So you can change your little handout there. And then we see also that Christ arose from the grave on the third day. Of course, we know that. It's part of the gospel, isn't it? I mean, we believe how Christ died according to the scriptures, was buried, and rose again the third day according to the scriptures. Then there was Christ's threefold question in charge to Peter. Not only did Peter have the three denials of Christ, and I believe the Lord, because he denied Christ three times up there in number eight that we saw, that the Lord came back to him with a threefold question. Peter, do you love me? Peter, do you love me? Peter, do you love Him? Every time it was, feed my sheep, feed my lambs. And there in John chapter 21, for each of the denials, the Lord gave him three assurances there that he could use Him again. So those are the threes that I found in Christ's life and ministry. Three is called the divine number because it's mentioned so often in connection with holy things. Of course, we know, as I've already mentioned, it speaks of the Holy Trinity, Trinity of God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, but it also speaks to the triune nature of man. We are made up of body, soul, and spirit. in our one person. There were three great feast days that you'll find in scripture, and that's the Passover, Pentecost, and the Feast of Tabernacles. There is the threefold character of the baptismal formula. When we baptize, some folks just baptize in the name of Jesus. We baptize like Matthew 28, 19 says to do, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. I mean, that's what we do. Buried with Him in baptism, raised to walk in newness of life. It's a three-fold character of the baptismal formula. The number three is also associated with the restoration of Israel. Look at Hosea, chapter number six, right after the book of of Daniel, you find Daniel, it's the next book over, Hosea chapter number 6 and verse number 1 and 2. It says, Come and let us return unto the Lord, for he hath torn He will heal us. He hath smitten, He will bind us up. After two days will He revive us. In the third day He will raise us up and we shall live in His sight. So it has to do with the restoration. And number three has to do with the restoration of Israel. We see the aspects of the gospel of Christ is also threefold. I mentioned that. Paul gives us the basics of the gospel in 1 Corinthians 15, verse 3 and 4, how that Christ died for our sins according to scripture, was buried, and rose again the third day according to scripture. That's the threefold aspect of the gospel. The gospel saves us, another threefold aspect. It saves us from our past, from our sin. It sanctifies for the present. We could call that saving us from the power of sin. It glorifies for the future. It's going to save us from the very presence of sin. From the penalty of sin, that's the past. The power of sin, that's the present. With the presence of sin, when we get glorified and at home with the Lord. Number three also stands for the resurrection of the body. We know there's a reference to the resurrection of Jonah and the resurrection of Christ. Look at Matthew chapter number 12. I know we're familiar with it, but let's take a look at it real quick anyway. Matthew chapter number 12. Matthew 12, verse 38. And certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee. And they were always looking for a sign. But he answered there in verse number 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 Jonas. For as Jonas 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. The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonas. And behold, a greater than Jonas is here. So we see there the Lord's reference of Jonah being in the belly of the whale and him being in the heart of the earth. Then there are three recorded cases found in the Old Testament of people being raised from the dead. The first was that of the son of the widow of Zarephath, and when we were studying on Wednesday night the Kings, which has been a while back now. We saw these things. That widow's son was raised by the prophet Elijah. The second case was the dead son of the Shunammite woman in 2 Kings 4 verses 18-35. That one was raised by the prophet Elisha. He's got Elijah, Elisha, and then the third case is the case of a dead man who was cast into the sepulcher of Elisha. And when he hit down there where Elisha was at, He woke up. He arose from the grave. There were three in the Old Testament and three resurrected by Christ in the New Testament we mentioned earlier. That makes six, man's number of weakness. If you add to it the resurrection of Christ, that makes seven, which we'll see the number of completeness. I'm getting ahead of ourselves. Six is going to be man's number, number of weakness. Seven, the number of completeness. The six were resurrected to die again, but in Christ they live forever. Now, I did put a note here for you. For those of you who know your Bible, you know there was one other that was raised, but it was not raised by Christ. This one was raised by Peter, and that's Tabitha, or Dorcas, there in Acts 9. And I just put that in there just so you know that I do know there was another resurrection. But we were talking about the Old Testament versus the ones resurrected by Christ in the New Testament. And then, that's where we're gonna leave off tonight. We'll start with our second handout, Lord willing, next week. Just not enough time to warrant handing that out and getting into that. We'll go ahead and have our prayer time. And so, that's our Bible study for this evening. We'll pull out our prayer list and pray for the needs that we mentioned earlier, and we'll be dismissed with this prayer.