The progression of days at the beginning of John’s Gospel adds up to 57 hours. ‘In the beginning’ (John 1:1) is day one, followed by ‘the next day’ (John 1:29) which is day two, followed by another ‘next day’ (John 1:35) which is the third day. During this third day is a tenth hour (John 1:39) and at this tenth hour, two days (48 hours) and 9 hours have passed, which is 57 hours.
At this tenth hour, Jesus invites the two disciples (perhaps typical of Jew and Gentile) to come and see where He is staying. This is a wonderful type, because John’s Gospel prefigures the Christian Dispensation, and the home of Jesus is therefore Heaven. After 57 hours, this delightful invitation to come and see where Jesus is staying is nothing less than a typological trip to Heaven which anticipates the Rapture.
Remember that the distinctive of John’s Gospel is that of resurrection, of Jesus already raised. There is no mention of Jesus’ birth and no mention of Jesus’ ascension. John’s Gospel is a record of Jesus who was eternally with the Father and became flesh. John presents Jesus as already rejected by his own. Combine this rejection with a post resurrection theme and the Gospel of John essentially pre-figures the Christian Dispensation.
As already said, this invitation of Messiah is therefore, a charming endorsement of the 57 hours as a type of the Christian Dispensation concluding with the Rapture.
