The Wedding Day

The first chapter of John provides an intricate prophetic calendar for various events between the start of Mankind at Adam and the wedding supper of the Lamb.

Background

The first chapter of the Book of John tells a progressive story of various events early in Jesus’ public ministry. These stories are linked together by an interesting chain of day-transitions so we are able to track the days on which various things happen. This is interesting because we find the writer of John felt these day transitions were important to the story.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it. There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John. He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe. He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world. He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God -- children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. John testifies concerning him. He cries out, saying, "This was he of whom I said, `He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.'" From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father's side, has made him known. Now this was John's testimony when the Jews of Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was. He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, "I am not the Christ." They asked him, "Then who are you? Are you Elijah?" He said, "I am not." "Are you the Prophet?" He answered, "No." Finally they said, "Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?" John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, "I am the voice of one calling in the desert, `Make straight the way for the Lord.'" Now some Pharisees who had been sent questioned him, "Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?" "I baptize with water," John replied, "but among you stands one you do not know. He is the one who comes after me, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie." This all happened at Bethany on the other side of the Jordan, where John was baptizing. The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! This is the one I meant when I said, `A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.' I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel." Then John gave this testimony: "I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. I would not have known him, except that the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, `The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is he who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.' I have seen and I testify that this is the Son of God." The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, "Look, the Lamb of God!" When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus. Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, "What do you want?" They said, "Rabbi" (which means Teacher), "where are you staying?" "Come," he replied, "and you will see." So they went and saw where he was staying, and spent that day with him. It was about the tenth hour. Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, "We have found the Messiah" (that is, the Christ). And he brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, "You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas" (which, when translated, is Peter). The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip, he said to him, "Follow me." Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida. Philip found Nathanael and told him, "We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote -- Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph." "Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?" Nathanael asked. "Come and see," said Philip. When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, "Here is a true Israelite, in whom there is nothing false." "How do you know me?" Nathanael asked. Jesus answered, "I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you." Then Nathanael declared, "Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel." Jesus said, "You believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You shall see greater things than that." He then added, "I tell you the truth, you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man." (John 1:1-51 NIV)

What was John trying to tell us? That Jesus will attend a wedding on the 14th day. What wedding? In this prophetic sense his own. Lets turn to look at the days in the first chapter of John.

Days 1-7 The first 18 verses of the first chapter of John tell about the Word of God becoming flesh. This passage reflects many truths about God himself, the important one for our story here is that God Created. The account of the creation in Genesis is quite clear. God created in various ways across 6 days and then he rested on the seventh. 7 days of creation. The first seven days of John chapter 1.
Day 8 Beginning at verse 19 and running through verse 28 we have an account of a day. The 8th day in our story. In this day John is asked to identify himself. His answer? That he is the one who will prepare the way for God.
Day 9 Verse 29 starts with "the next day" and John explains that he would not have known Jesus if the Holy Spirit had not revealed it to him.
Day 10 Verse 35 contains "the next day" and moves our attention to the 10th day. This day involves John showing Jesus to two disciples. They want to known where he is staying and he shows them. This day includes a reference so we know for sure that we are in the 10th day. The reference? The 10th hour.(John 1:39) This verse also saying that they spent the day with him, completing this day for us.
Day 11 Verse 40 starts the 11th day, the day that Peter meets Jesus and starts to follow him.
Day 12 Verse 43 starts with "the next day" and Jesus finds several other followers. Nathaniel believes because Jesus tells him he saw Nathaniel while he was under the fig tree, and that they would see greater things than that.
Day 14 Chapter 2 starts with the expression "on the third day." This puts the distance from day 12, as being three days. Day 12 is the first of the three, Day 13 is the second of the three, and Day 14 is the third of the three. This third day is the day that Chapter 2 puts as the day of a wedding feast. What does Jesus do here? He turns six stone water jars into wine. Taking common water and making it valuable to the master of the Banquet.

Personal Meaning

Human beings are made out of stone and water. These are common elements and not particularly valuable.

After being touched by Jesus the water becomes wine. This is what happens when we are touched by Jesus in the spirit. At that point we become valuable to God the Father, the master of the banquet.

Several of the details found in this story do not apply to personal salvation. The principle of reduction says that these other details are there for some other meaning, the prophetic meaning.

Prophetic Meaning

Jesus’ mother asked Jesus to perform the miracle of turning water into wine. Normally only the wedding party supplies wine for the banquet. This question suggests that this is somehow Jesus’ own wedding.

No other scripture suggests that Jesus had an earthly wife. This is probably not his earthly wedding. Prophetically this is part of the story. Jesus himself will have a wedding, the "wedding supper of the Lamb."

When does this prophetic wedding take place? As John tells us, on the 14th day of mankind. That day on the master of the Banquet’s calendar begins when the world has passed into the next millennium. The following shows the date report:

Start of God’s Day 14
Tue	⇉13001-01-01 AA	16 Feb 2010 NS	3 Feb 2763 AUC	4742401 AAN
Tue	3501-01-01 FE	3 Feb 2009 OS	3 Feb 2010 AD	2455244 JDN

Of course this is a precise date that starts this date. The 14th day lasts for 1000 years so the wedding itself can be at any point after this date within that 1000 year window. As a practical matter many of the historical dates landed on or very close to the millennium breaks earlier on the time line. Here are some of those.

Other Interesting Days in this Story

The 9th day was the human years 8001 through 9000 after Adam. It includes the life of Abraham, the first "man of faith." The work of revealing Jesus is always an act of the Holy Spirit. It was in this time that the first man of faith, Abraham, came to believe in the same sort of Holy Spirit led way.

The 10th day is also interesting. It is the date that two are introduced to Jesus and his location. That day lasted from the year 9001 until 10,000 after Adam. As we saw with the woman at the well, hours can represent Jubilees, and in John’s story the events transpire around the 10th hour. This is the period when the nation of Israel met with God at the base of Mount Sinai, in the middle of this day, 9501. This was 500 years, or 10 Jubilees, into the 10th day. The elders of Israel went up the mountain, and saw him "where he was." Also, the house of Israel is made up primarily of two parties, Israel and Judah. The two disciples play this role prophetically in this story.

The 12th day is also interesting. Here more disciples decide to follow him. They are told they will see greater things than this. What things? From 11,001, until 12,000 after Adam is the first 1000 years of the last two millenniums. The period of the first main rise of Christianity in the world. Greater things than just the first disciples. The first adoption of Christianity as a state religion anywhere in the world.

Day 13 is noticeably absent. Why? God did not move specifically in the history of mankind in this period. At least not dramatically like a visit, or a Mount Sinai. The church, or the bride, has just been slowly advancing in various ways. The last century being the most dramatic in that growth period, but nothing as dramatic as mount Sinai. The next "big day" is day 14, which we are quickly approaching.

Conclusion

The triangulation of this story is great. It basically lays out the 7 days up to Noah’s flood, the various days since Abraham and it leaves us with one more day to come, the day of the wedding. This is the best we have looked at so far in terms of following ancient stories and dates and running them forward. The story gets better.

Days were not the only thing Moses told us were linked to 1000 year long periods. Moses also said that "watches in the night" were to God as 1000 year long periods were. We look at one of those next.

Phil Stone 2008-09-18 2023-12-28