There are three periods of time of the witness to the gospel, introduced by understanding the number seven and the seventh day rest in the Scriptures. At the end of the first period of time, Noah sent out the dove, a type of the Holy Spirit, and it came back with nowhere to rest. The second period of time began after the sign of the first seven days. The dove came back with an olive leaf. Noah received knowledge from this period of time. The third period of time began after the sign of the second seven days. The dove did not return.
The first period of time was from Adam to Abraham. The Holy Spirit could not indwell the Chosen Saved during this period of time. The dove as a type of the Holy Spirit could find no one cleansed from sin. The second period of time began with the first of three sevens. This period of time was from Abraham to the first advent of our Lord. Knowledge came to Noah through this period of time. The entire Old Testament was written. The dove still had to return though, as there still was no place found to land. The third period of time began with the second seven. This period of time was from the first advent of Jesus until His second coming. The dove did not come back this time, as the Holy Spirit found precious souls that had been cleansed from their sins. The dove found a resting place by indwelling the lives of all the Chosen Saved.