487. 'Days means periods of time and states in general. This has been shown in Chapter 1, where the 'days of creation' have no other meaning. In the Word it is very common for a whole period of time to be called 'a day', as it clearly is in the present verse and in verses 5, 8, 11, 14, 17, 20, 23, 27, 31, below; and therefore the states that belong to periods of time in general are meant by 'days' as well. And when 'years' is attached, then periods of years mean the natures of those states, and so the states in particular.

[2] The most ancient people had their own particular numbers which they would use to mean different aspects of the Church - for instance, the numbers three, seven, ten, twelve, and many which they obtained from these and other numbers - and in so doing incorporated states of the Church. These numbers therefore contain arcana that would require considerable effort to unravel. Really a number was an evaluation of the states of the Church. The same feature occurs throughout the Word, especially in the prophetical. And the religious ceremonies of the Jewish Church also entail numbers specifying periods of time as well as quantities; for example, in connection with sacrifices, minchahs, oblations, and other practices, which in every case have special reference to holy things. Consequently eight hundred in this verse, nine hundred and thirty in the next, and the numbers of years mentioned in the verses that follow after that, embody in particular more matters than can possibly be retold; matters, that is to say, which have to do with changes in the state of their Church in relationship to their own general state. Later on, in the Lord's Divine mercy, the meaning of the simple numbers up to twelve will be given, for without knowing these first of all no one can grasp what compound numbers mean.

Il terzo giorno" significa la fine di uno stato di preparazione alla ricezione, e quindi la fine della purificazione, come in Esodo 19:16. Il terzo giorno", come in Osea 6:2, 8, ha lo stesso significato del "settimo giorno", che è uno stato di pace. Il terzo giorno' come in Genesi 22:4, significa qualcosa di completo e un inizio di santificazione. Giorno', nella Parola, significa stato, come tutti i riferimenti al tempo, come ora, giorno, settimana, mese, anno, età, mattina, mezzogiorno, sera, notte. e primavera, estate, autunno, inverno. Quando viene aggiunto "terzo", significa la fine di quello stato e anche l'inizio dello stato successivo. Nel senso interno della Parola, 'tre giorni' e 'il terzo giorno' significano la stessa cosa. Il Signore risuscitò il terzo giorno, ed è anche per questo che il Signore distinse le fasi della sua vita in tre, come in Luca 8:32. Il Signore sopportò anche l'ultima tentazione sulla croce, alla 'terza ora del giorno', come in Marco 15:25. 'Terza parte' significa qualcosa di non ancora pieno, mentre 'tre' e 'triplice' significano completezza, rispetto al male quando è applicato al male, e rispetto al bene quando è applicato al bene.

(Riferimenti: Arcana Coelestia 8811; Luca 8; Marco 15)