569. Loose the four angels that are bound at the great river Euphrates.- That this signifies reasonings from fallacies pertaining to the sensual man, which were not received before, is evident from the signification of the angels at the river Euphrates, as denoting reasonings from fallacies which are in the sensual man, of which in what follows. And because reasonings from fallacies were not received in the church before, therefore those angels are said to be bound at that river, and are said to be four from the conjunction of falsity with evil, for this number, in the Word signifies the conjunction of good and truth, and in the opposite sense, as here, the conjunction of evil and falsity; see above (n. 283, 384, 532). In the preceding verses the sensual man, who is in the falsities of evil, and the result of the persuasions in which the sensual man is, were treated of, therefore in what now follows, reasonings from the Sensual are dealt with. And because the Sensual reasons only from such things as, in the world, are manifest to the senses, it does so from fallacies, called fallacies of the senses, when it reasons concerning spiritual things, that is, concerning the things of heaven and the church, and therefore it is here said, reasonings from fallacies pertaining to the sensual man; but concerning these fallacies and reasoning from them, more will be said in what follows.

[2] The subject here treated of is the state of the church at its very end, and such state exists when the men of the church, having become sensual, reason from the fallacies of the senses; and when they reason from these concerning the things of heaven and the church, then they absolutely believe nothing, because they understand nothing. It is a thing known in the church, that the natural man does not perceive the things of heaven, unless the Lord flows in and enlightens him, and this takes place by means of the spiritual man; much less can the sensual man [understand and believe], because this is the ultimate of the Natural, to which the things of heaven, called spiritual things, are altogether in thick darkness. Genuine reasonings concerning spiritual things exist from the influx of heaven into the spiritual man, and thence through the rational into the knowledges (scientiae) and cognitions that are in the natural man, by which the spiritual man confirms itself. This method of reasoning concerning spiritual things is according to order. But the reasonings of the natural man and still more of the sensual man concerning spiritual things are altogether contrary to order; for the natural man, and still less the sensual man, cannot flow into the spiritual man, and from itself see any thing there, since physical influx does not exist. But the spiritual man can flow into the natural, and thence into the sensual, for spiritual influx does exist. But upon this subject more may be seen in the Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 51, 277, 278).

[3] From these considerations it is clear that the meaning of the things which now follow, is that at the very end of the church man speaks and reasons concerning spiritual things, or concerning the things of heaven and the church, from the corporeal Sensual, and thus from the fallacies of the senses, consequently, that although he then speaks in favour of Divine things, yet he does not think in favour of them. For man can, from the body, speak differently from what he thinks in his spirit, and the spirit, which thinks from the corporeal Sensual, cannot do otherwise than think contrary to Divine things; but still from the corporeal Sensual he can speak in favour of them, and especially because Divine things are the means of acquiring honours and gain. Every man has two memories, a natural memory and a spiritual memory, and he can think from both, from the natural memory when he speaks with men in the world, but from the spiritual memory when he speaks from his spirit. A man, however, rarely speaks with another from his spirit, but only with himself, which is to think. Sensual men cannot speak or think from their own spirit with themselves otherwise than in favour of nature, consequently in favour of things corporeal and worldly, because they think from the Sensual, and not from the Spiritual, they are even altogether ignorant of what the Spiritual is, because they have closed their spiritual mind, into which heaven flows by virtue of its light.

[4] But let us proceed to explain the signification of the words, the voice which was heard from the horns of the golden altar, saying to the sixth angel, that he should loose the four angels that were bound at the river Euphrates. The river Euphrates signifies the Rational, and therefore reasoning also. The reason of this signification of that river is, that it divided Assyria from the land of Canaan, and by Assyria, or Ashur, is signified the Rational, and by the land of Canaan, the Spiritual. There were three rivers which formed the boundaries of the land of Canaan, in addition to the sea, namely, the river of Egypt, the river Euphrates, and the river Jordan. The river of Egypt signified the knowledge (scientia) of the natural man; the river Euphrates signified the Rational pertaining to man, and derived from knowledges (scientiae) and cognitions, and the river Jordan signified entrance into the internal or spiritual church. For the regions on the other side Jordan where the tribes of Reuben and Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh had inheritances allotted to them, signified the external or natural church, and because that river was between those regions and the land of Canaan, and afforded a passage, therefore it signified entrance from the external church which is natural, into the internal church which is spiritual. This was the reason that baptism was there instituted, for baptism represented the regeneration of man, by means of which the natural man is introduced into the church, and becomes spiritual.

[5] From these considerations the signification of those three rivers in the Word is clear. All the places too which were outside the land of Canaan, signified such things as pertain to the natural man, whereas those which were within the land of Canaan signified such things as pertain to the spiritual man, thus those which pertain to heaven and the church. Those two rivers, therefore, the river of Egypt, or the Nile, and the river of Assyria, or Euphrates, signified the terminations of the church, and also introductions into the church. Cognitions also and knowledges (scientiae), which are signified by the river of Egypt, introduce, for without cognitions and knowledges (scientiae), no one can be introduced into the church, nor have a perception of those things which pertain to the church. For the spiritual man, by means of the rational, sees its spiritual things in knowledges, as a man sees himself in a mirror, and acknowledges itself in them, that is, its own truths and goods, and moreover confirms its spiritual things by cognitions and scientifics, both by those which are known from the Word, and those which are known from the world.

[6] But the river of Assyria, or the Euphrates, signified the Rational, because by means of it man is introduced into the church. By the Rational is meant the thought of the natural man from cognitions and knowledges, for a man who is imbued with knowledges (scientiae) is able to see things in a series, from primaries and mediates the ultimate, which is called the conclusion, consequently, he can analytically arrange, reflect upon, separate, conjoin things, and at length form conclusions upon them, even to that ulterior end and at length to the ultimate which forms the use that he loves. This then is the Rational, which is given to every man according to uses, which are the ends that he loves.

Because everyone's Rational is according to the uses of his love, therefore it is the interior thought of the natural man from the influx of the light of heaven; and because man by rational thought is introduced into spiritual thought, and becomes a church, therefore that river signifies the Natural introducing.

[7] It is one thing to be rational, and another thing to be spiritual; every spiritual man is also rational, but the rational man is not always spiritual; the reason is, that the Rational, that is, the thought thereof, is in the natural man, but the Spiritual is above the Rational, and by means of the Rational passes into the Natural, into the cognitions and scientifics of its memory.

[8] But it must be observed, that the Rational does not introduce any one into the Spiritual, but it is so said, only because it appears to be the case. For the Spiritual flows into the Natural by means of the Rational, and thus introduces. For the Spiritual is the inflowing Divine, it is the light of heaven, which is the proceeding Divine Truth. This [light] flows through the higher mind called the spiritual mind, into the lower mind called the natural mind, and conjoins this to itself, and by means of that conjunction causes the natural mind to form one with the spiritual. Introduction is thus effected. Since it is contrary to Divine order for man by his Rational to enter into the Spiritual, therefore in the spiritual world there are angelic guards to prevent this taking place. It is therefore evident, what is signified by the four angels bound at the river Euphrates, and afterwards what is meant by loosing them. By the angels bound at the river Euphrates, is signified guard lest the Natural of man should enter into the spiritual things of heaven and the church, for were this the case there would be nothing but errors and heresies, and at length negation.

[9] In the spiritual world there are also ways that lead to hell, and those that lead to heaven, likewise, ways which lead from spiritual things to natural, and thence to things sensual; and also in those ways guards are placed, lest any one should go in a contrary direction, for he would thence lapse into heresies and errors, as just stated. Those guards are placed by the Lord in the beginning when the church is being established, and are also maintained lest the man of the church, from his own reason or understanding, should introduce himself into the Divine things of the Word, and thence of the church. But in the end, when the men of the church are no longer spiritual, but natural, and many utterly sensual, and there being no way from the spiritual man into the natural with the man of the church, then those guards are removed, and the ways are opened, and being opened, they go in a contrary order, which is brought about by reasonings from fallacies. Hence it comes to pass that the man of the church can speak with the mouth in favour of Divine things, while in heart he thinks contrary to them, or he can speak in favour of them from the body, and think contrary to them from the spirit; for reasoning concerning Divine things from the natural and sensual man produces this effect. The signification of the four angels bound at the river Euphrates and of their being loosed is now evident from these things.

[10] That the river Euphrates signifies the Rational, by means of which there is a way from the spiritual man into the natural, is clear from the following passages in the Word.

Thus in Moses:

"Jehovah made a covenant with Abraham, saying, Unto thy seed will I give this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates" (Genesis 15:18).

These words, in the sense of the letter, describe the extension of the land of Canaan, but in the internal sense, the extension of the church from its first to its final boundary; its first boundary is the Scientific, which is of the natural man, the other boundary is the Rational, which is of the thought. The Scientific which is of the natural man, is signified by the river of Egypt, or the Nile, and the Rational, which is of the thought, by the river of Assyria, or Euphrates; to these two the spiritual church, signified by the land of Canaan, extends itself, and similarly the spiritual mind of the man of the church. The Scientific and the Rational are both in the natural man, one limit of which is the scientific and cognitive [faculty] (scientificum et cognitivum), and the other is the intuitive and thinking [faculty] (intuitivum et cogitativum), and into these limits the spiritual man flows when it flows into the natural man. The conjunction of the Lord with the church by means of these is signified by the covenant which Jehovah established with Abraham. But these things are signified by the above words in the internal sense, while in the highest sense the union of the Divine Essence (Divine Essentiae) with the Human of the Lord is meant. These words are explained according to that sense in the Arcana Coelestia 1863-1866).

[11] So in Zechariah:

"His dominion shall be from sea even to sea, and from the river even to the ends of the earth" (9:10).

Similarly in David (Psalm 72:8).

These things are said concerning the Lord and His dominion over heaven and earth. By dominion from sea even to sea, is signified the extension of things natural, and by dominion from the river even to the ends of the earth, is signified the extension of things rational and spiritual; see also above (n. 518).

[12] So in Moses:

"The land of the Canaanites, and Lebanon, unto the great river, the river Euphrates. Behold, I have set the land before you; go in and possess the land" (Deuteronomy 1:7, 8).

And again:

"Every place whereon the soles of your feet shall tread shall be yours; from the wilderness and Lebanon, from the river, the river Euphrates, even unto the uttermost sea shall your coast be" (Deuteronomy 11:24).

So in Joshua:

"From the wilderness and this Lebanon, even unto the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and unto the great sea, the going down of the sun, shall be your coast" (1:4).

In these passages the extension of the church from one boundary to the other is described, one of which pertains to the cognitive and scientific [faculty] and is signified by Lebanon and the sea, and the other pertains to intuition and thinking [faculty], and is signified by the river Euphrates. The extension of the land of Canaan denotes the extension of the church, for by the land of Canaan in the Word, is signified the church. The river is twice mentioned, namely, the great river, the river Euphrates, because by the great river is signified the influx of things spiritual into things rational, and by the river Euphrates, the influx of things rational into things natural, thus by both, the influx of things spiritual through the Rational into things natural.

[13] So in Micah:

"This is the day in which they shall come even to thee from Assyria, and unto the cities of Egypt, and thence from Egypt even to the river, and to sea from sea, and from mountain to mountain" (7:12).

The establishment of the church among the Gentiles by the Lord is described by these words. "This day" signifies the Lord's coming; the extension of the church among them from one end to the other is signified by "they shall come from Assyria, and unto the cities of Egypt, and from Egypt to the river." The extension of truth from one end to the other is signified by to sea from sea, and the extension of good by from mountain to mountain.

[14] In David:

"Thou hast caused a vine to go forth out of Egypt; thou hast cast out the nations and planted it, thou hast sent out her boughs unto the sea, and her branches unto the river" (Psalm 80:8, 11).

By the vine which God caused to go forth out of Egypt are meant the sons of Israel, also the church is signified, for a vine signifies the spiritual church, which church was also signified by the sons of Israel. And because the church is called a vine, it is therefore said, "Thou hast planted it; thou hast sent out her boughs unto the sea, and her branches unto the river," by which is described the extension of the spiritual things of the church, the sea denoting one extremity thereof, and the river, which means the Euphrates, denoting the other. By the Euphrates, which was the fourth river that went out of Eden (Genesis 2:14), is also signified the Rational, for the garden in Eden, or Paradise, signifies wisdom. The signification of the three other rivers may be seen explained in the Arcana Coelestia 107-121).

[15] Because the river Euphrates signifies the Rational, therefore, it signifies, in the opposite sense, reasoning. Reasoning here means thought, and argumentation from fallacies and falsities, but by the Rational are meant thought and argumentation from knowledges (scientiae) and truths. For every Rational is trained by knowledges (scientiae), and formed by truths, wherefore he who is led by truths, or whom truths lead, is called a rational man. But a man who is not rational can reason, for by various reasonings he can confirm falsities, and also induce the simple to believe them, and this is principally done through the fallacies of the senses, concerning which more will be said below.

[16] This reasoning is signified by the river Euphrates in the following passages:

"Now what hast thou to do with the way of Egypt, to drink the waters of Shihor? or what hast thou to do with the way of Assyria, to drink the waters of the river?" (Jeremiah 2:18).

These words signify, that spiritual things must not be investigated by means of the scientifics (scientifica) of the natural man, nor by reasonings therefrom, but by means of the Word, thus out of heaven from the Lord. For those who are in spiritual affection, and thought thence, see the scientifics of the natural man, and the reasonings therefrom, as it were, below them, but no one can see spiritual things from the latter, for lower things may be viewed on all sides from higher ground, but not conversely. To investigate spiritual things by means of the scientifics of the natural man, is signified by "what hast thou to do with the way of Egypt, to drink the waters of Shihor?" And by reasonings therefrom is signified by "what hast thou to do with the way of Assyria, to drink the waters of the river?" Egypt and its river signify the scientifics of the natural man, and Assyria and its river signify reasonings from them.

[17] So again, in Isaiah:

"In that day shall the Lord shave with a razor that is hired, in the passages of the river, by the king of Assyria, the head, and the hair of the feet; and it shall also consume the beard" (7:20).

These words refer to the state of the church at its end, when the Lord was about to come. That reasonings from falsities, would then deprive the men of the church of all wisdom and spiritual intelligence, is described by the above words. Such reasonings are signified by "by the king of Assyria, in the passages of the river," that is, the Euphrates. The deprivation of spiritual wisdom, and of intelligence thence, is signified by the hair of the head and of the feet being shaved with a razor that is hired, and by the beard being consumed. For hairs signify natural things into which spiritual things operate, and wherein they close, therefore in the Word they signify the ultimates of wisdom and intelligence, the hair of the head signifies the ultimates of wisdom, the beard signifies the ultimates of intelligence, and the hair of the feet, the ultimates of knowledge (scientia). Without these ultimates, things prior can no more exist than a column without a base, or a house without a foundation. That those who have deprived themselves of intelligence by reasonings from fallacies and from falsities, appear bald in the spiritual world, may be seen above (n. 66).

[18] Again, in the same prophet:

"Behold, the Lord bringeth up upon them the waters of the river strong and many, the king of Assyria, and all his glory; and he shall come up over all his channels, and go over all his banks; he shall pass through Judah; he shall overflow and go over" (8:7, 8).

These words signify, that in the church the Word generally and in all its details, will be falsified by reasonings based on fallacies and falsities. The waters of the river, strong and many, the king of Assyria, signify reasonings from pure fallacies and falsities. He shall come up over all his channels, and over all his banks, signifies, that the Word generally and in all its details will be falsified. By Judah, which he shall overflow and pass through, is signified the church where the Word is, thus the Word.

[19] So again, in Jeremiah:

"Against the army of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, who was by the river Euphrates, which Nebuchadnezzar smote. They have stumbled and fallen toward the north by the bank of the river Euphrates" (46:2, 6).

These words signify the destruction of the church and its truths by false reasonings from scientifics; by the river Euphrates are signified false reasonings. By Egypt and the army thereof are signified confirmatory scientifics; by the north where they stumbled and fell, is signified whence those falsities arise. This passage also is more fully explained above (n. 518:38).

[20] Again, in the same prophet:

Jehovah told the prophet to go and buy a linen girdle and put it upon his loins, but not to put it in water; then that he should go to the river Euphrates and hide the girdle there in a hole of the rock; and he went and hid it by the Euphrates. "After the end of many days, Jehovah said, Arise, go to Euphrates, and take the girdle from thence"; and he went and took it, "and behold the girdle was marred, it was profitable for nothing. As the girdle cleaveth to the loins of a man, so have I caused to cleave unto me the whole house of Israel, and the whole house of Judah, that they might be unto me for a name, for a praise, and for a glory, but they did not hear" (13:1-7, 11).

These things represented the quality of the Israelitish and Jewish church and its subsequent state. The girdle of linen which the prophet put upon his loins signifies the conjunction of the church with the Lord by means of the Word; for a prophet signifies doctrine from the Word, and the girdle upon the loins of the prophet signifies conjunction. The falsifications of the Word through evils of life and by falsities of doctrine, and the reasonings thence which favour them, are signified by the girdle being marred in the hole of the rock at Euphrates. For the conjunction of the Lord with the church is by means of the Word, and when this is perverted by reasonings which favour evils and falsities, then there is no longer conjunction, and this is meant by the girdle being profitable for nothing. That this was done by the Jews, is evident from the Word both of the old and of the new testament; from the Word of the new testament, that they had perverted all things written in the Word concerning the Lord, and also all the essentials of the church, and that they had falsified them by their traditions.

[21] So again, in Jeremiah:

"When thou hast made an end of reading this book, thou shalt bind a stone to it, and cast it into the midst of Euphrates; and thou shalt say, Thus shall Babylon sink, and shall not rise again" (51:63, 64).

By the book of the prophet which he read, is specifically meant that Word which was in that book, but in general, the whole Word. By his casting it into the midst of Euphrates, is signified, that the Word, in process of time through the reasonings which favour evils, would be falsified by those who are meant by Babylon, Babylon denoting those who adulterate the Word.

[22] Again, in Isaiah:

"Jehovah shall devote the tongue of the Egyptian sea; and with the vehemence of his wind shall he shake his hand over the river Euphrates, and shall smite it into the seven streams, and make men go over dry shod. Then there shall be a high way for the remnant of his people which shall be left from Assyria; like as it was to Israel when he came up out of the land of Egypt" (11:15, 16).

These words signify that all falsities, and reasonings therefrom, shall be dissipated before those who are in truths from good from the Lord, or who belong to the church, and that they shall, as it were, pass safely through the midst of them. This is the case in the spiritual world with those whom the Lord defends. The same thing is here meant by the drying up of the Sea Suph (Red Sea) before the sons of Israel; those who shall pass through under the protection of the Lord are signified by the remnant of the people which shall be left from Assyria, those left from Assyria denoting those who have not perished by reasonings from falsities. The meaning of the following passage in the Apocalypse is similar:

"The sixth angel poured out his vial upon the river Euphrates, and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings who are from the east might be prepared" (16:12).

These words will be more fully explained below in their proper place.

[23] From these things, it is now evident, that the river Euphrates signifies the Rational, by means of which the spiritual mind enters into the natural [mind], and that, in the opposite sense it signifies reasoning from fallacies and from falsities. It must however be observed, that reasonings are in the same degree as the thoughts, for they descend from them; thus there are reasonings from the spiritual man, which however must be called rather conclusions from reasons and from truths; there are reasonings from the natural man, and also from the sensual man. Reasonings from the spiritual man are rational, therefore they must be called rather conclusions from reasons and from truths, because they are from the interior and from the light of heaven; but reasonings from the natural man concerning spiritual things are not rational, however much they may appear to be so in moral and civil matters, which appear before the eyes, for they are from natural light alone. But reasonings from the sensual man concerning spiritual things are irrational, because they are from fallacies, and thence from false ideas. It is this last class of reasonings that is now here treated of in the Apocalypse.

2788. That 'on the third day' means that which has been completed, and the beginning of sanctification, is clear from the meaning of 'the third day'. 'Day' in the Word means state, 23, 487, 488, 493, 893, as also does 'year', and as in general do all periods of time - an hour, day, week, month, year, or age; also morning, midday, evening, and night; and spring, summer, autumn, and winter. And when 'the third' is added to any of these the end of that state, and at the same time the beginning of the next, are meant. Here, the subject being the sanctification of the Lord which was effected by means of temptations, 'the third day' means that which has been completed and at the same time the beginning of sanctification, as also follows from what has been said previously to this. The reason for this meaning is that when He had fulfilled everything the Lord was to rise again on the third day, for the things that were done by the Lord while He lived in the world, that is, the things that were yet to be done by Him, were embodied within the representatives of the Church as though they had already been done. This was as it is with the internal sense of the Word, for with God that which is yet to come to pass and that which already is are one and the same; indeed to Him the whole of eternity is here and now.

[2] This is why the number three was representative not only in the Ancient Church and in the Jewish but also among various gentile nations; see what has been stated about this number in 720, 901, 1825. That such was the origin of the meaning of 'three' is clear in Hosea,

We will return to Jehovah, for He has wounded and will heal us; He has stricken and will bind us up; He will revive us after two days, on the third day He will raise us up that we may live before Him. Hosea 6:1-2.

Here 'the third day' stands for the coming of the Lord and His resurrection. The same is clear from Jonah, in that he was in the stomach of the fish three days and three nights, Jonah 1:17, to which the Lord refers in Matthew as follows,

As Jonah was in the belly of the whale three days and three nights, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. Matthew 12:40.

[3] It should be realized that in the internal sense of the Word 'three days' and 'the third day' have the same meaning, as also do 'three' and 'third' in the following places: In John,

Jesus said to the Jews, Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up. He was speaking of the temple of His body. John 2:19-21; Matthew 26:61; Mark 14:58; 15:29.

It is a well known fact that the Lord rose again on the third day.

[4] For the same reason the Lord also distinguished three periods in His life: in Luke,

Go and tell that fox, Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, but on the third day I reach completion. Luke 13:32.

Also, the Lord underwent the final temptation, which was that of the Cross, at the third hour of the day, Mark 15:25. Three hours later, that is, at the sixth hour, darkness fell over the whole land, ¹ Luke 23:44. And three hours after that, at the ninth hour, the end came, Mark 15:33-34, 37. But in the morning of the third day He rose again, Mark 16:1-4; Luke 24:7. See also Matthew 16:21; 17:22-23; 20:18-19; Mark 8:31; 9:31; 10:33-34; Luke 18:33; 24:46. From all this, and especially from the Lord's resurrection on the third day, the number three was representative and possessed a spiritual meaning. This fact becomes clear from the following places in the Word:

When Jehovah came down upon Mount Sinai He told Moses that he was to sanctify the people today and tomorrow and they were to wash their garments and be ready on the third day, for on the third day Jehovah would come down. Exodus 19:10-11, 15-16.

When they travelled from the mountain of Jehovah on a three days' journey, the Ark of Jehovah travelled before them on the three days' journey to search out rest for them. Numbers 10:33.

There was thick darkness for three days in all the land of Egypt, and nobody could see his brother for three days, but the children of Israel had light. Exodus 10:22-23.

[5] The flesh of a sacrifice made as a vow-offering or as a freewill-offering was to be eaten on the first and the second day; nothing was to be kept until the third day but was to be burned, because it was an abomination. So too with the flesh of a sacrifice made as a 'eucharistic' offering; if this was eaten on the third day the one offering the sacrifice would not be accepted and that soul would bear his iniquity. Leviticus 7:16-18; 19:6-7.

Anyone who touched a dead body was to purify himself on the third day, and on the seventh day he would be clean. If he did not do so that soul would be cut off from Israel. And one that was clean was to sprinkle water over the unclean person on the third day and on the seventh day. Numbers 19:12-13, 19.

Those who had killed someone in battle and had touched one who had been slain were to purify themselves on the third day and on the seventh day. Numbers 31:19.

[6] When they came into the land of Canaan the fruit of a tree was to be uncircumcised for three years and not eaten. Leviticus 19:23.

At the end of three years they were to bring every tenth part of their produce in that year and deposit it within their gates so that the Levite, the sojourner, the orphan, and the widow might eat. Deuteronomy 14:28-29; 26:12.

Three times a year they were to keep a feast to Jehovah. And three times a year every male person was to appear before the face of the Lord Jehovah. Exodus 23:14, 17; Deuteronomy 16:16.

Joshua told the people that in three days they would be crossing the Jordan and inheriting the land. Joshua 1:11; 3:2.

Jehovah called to Samuel three times and the third time he answered Him. 1 Samuel 3:8.

[7] When Saul wished to kill David, David hid in the field until the third evening. Jonathan told David, I will sound out my father on the third day from now. Jonathan said that he would shoot three arrows to the side of the stone. And David fell face to the ground, before Jonathan and bowed down three times.12, 19, 20, 35, 36, 41.

David was to choose one of these three things - either seven years of famine in the land, or his own flight before his enemies for three months, or pestilence in the land for three days. 2 Samuel 24:12-13.

[8] There was a famine in the days of David for three years, year after year. 2 Samuel 21:1.

Elijah stretched himself over the dead boy three times and revived him. 1 Kings 17:21.

When he had built the altar to Jehovah, Elijah told them to pour water over the burnt offering and over the wood three times. 1 Kings 18:34.

Fire consumed the captains of fifty sent on two occasions to Elijah, but not the one sent on the third occasion. 2 Kings 1:13-14.

It was a sign to King Hezekiah that they were to eat in that year what had grown of itself, and in the second year further growth from the same; but in the third year they were to sow, reap, plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of these. 2 Kings 19:29.

[9] Daniel went into his house and had the windows open in his [upper] chamber towards Jerusalem, where three times a day he gave thanks on his knees and prayed. Daniel 6:10, 13.

Daniel was mourning for three whole weeks, not eating pleasant bread, nor drinking wine, nor anointing himself, until the three whole weeks were completed. Daniel 10:2-3.

Isaiah went naked and barefoot three years as a sign and a portent against Egypt and against Cush. Isaiah 20:3.

Out of the Lampstand went three branches on either side, and three almond-shaped cups on each branch. Exodus 25:32-33.

In the Urim and Thummim there were three precious stones in each row. Exodus 28:17-20.

[10] In the New Temple there were to be three chambers on this side of the gate and three on that, and all three were to measure the same. And the breadth of the gate to the vestibule of the house was to be three cubits this way and three cubits that. Ezekiel 40:10, 21, 48.

In the New Jerusalem there were to be three gates to the north, three to the east, three to the south, and three to the west. Ezekiel 48:31-34; Revelation 21:13.

The same may be seen in the following places:

Peter denied Jesus three times. Matthew 26:34, 69 and following verses.

The Lord said to Peter three times, Do you love Me? John 21:17.

Also, in the parable about the man who planted a vineyard, he sent servants three times, and at length his own son. Luke 20:12; Mark 12:2, 4-6.

The labourers in the vineyard were hired at the third hour, the sixth hour, the ninth hour, and the eleventh hour. Matthew 20:1-17.

And concerning the fig tree which, because it bore no fruit for three years, was to be cut down. Luke 13:6-7.

[11] Just as a group of three and a third one were representative, so also was a third part, as in the following:

Minchahs consisted of two tenths of fine flour mixed with a third part of a hin of oil, and the wine for the drink-offering was a third of a hin. Numbers 15:6-7; Ezekiel 46:14.

In Ezekiel it is said that he was to run a razor over his head and over his beard, and then to divide his hair, burning a third part in the fire, striking a third around the city with his sword, and scattering a third to the wind. Ezekiel 5:1-2, 11.

In Zechariah it is said that in the whole land, two parts were to be cut off, and the third would be left. Yet this third would be led through fire and tested. Zechariah 13:8-9.

[12] In John it is said that when the first angel sounded there came hail, and fire mixed with blood; and it fell on to the earth so that a third part of the trees were burned. The second angel sounded and so to speak a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea. And a third part of the sea became blood resulting in the death of a third part of the creatures who had their being in the sea. And a third part of the ships was destroyed. The third angel sounded and there fell from the sky a great star burning like a torch and it fell upon a third part of the rivers. The name of the star is Wormwood. The fourth angel sounded and a third part of the sun was struck, and a third part of the moon, and a third part of the stars, so that a third part of these was blacked out, and the day had no light for a third part of it, nor likewise the night. Revelation 8:7-12.

[13] The four angels were released to kill a third part of mankind. Revelation 9:15.

A third part of mankind was killed by these three, fire, smoke, and brimstone, which went forth out of the mouths of the horses. Revelation 9:18.

The dragon drew with his tail a third part of the stars of heaven and cast them down to the earth. Revelation 12:4.

'A third part' however means something which is not yet finished, whereas 'a third' and 'a group of three' mean that which has been finished - evil in the case of the evil, good in the case of the good.

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