Sign of Jonah | tm91 ~ studies

The Sign of Jonah

INTRODUCTION

The only sign - MATTHEW 12:38-40

"Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee. But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas: For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth."

What is the sign?

The sign of Jonah is the ONLY sign given to an evil and adulterous generation. To understand this sign, we must receive Jesus, the Son of man, into our hearts. Jesus is also referred to as the Word of God in scripture. For it is written: “And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.” So then, we will let the Word of God, just as it reads, be our guide in receiving this precious sign into our lives.

Three days and three nights.

We live in a world of lies and errors, constantly bombarded with many voices all claiming to have the truth. Many religious teachers have their teachings on what constitutes the "three days and three nights," but we should not trust those who claim to know the truth. Rather, we should trust in Him who IS the truth: Jesus. Who is the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God.

What is a day and what is a night?

A 24-hour day consists of 2 parts: day and night, with each taking up 12 hours. Jesus said, “Are there not twelve hours in the day?” (John 11:9). The 12-hour night begins at evening, and the 12-hour day begins with morning. Furthermore, the 24-hour day begins with the evening part of the night. Thus, it is written: “And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also...And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.” (Genesis 1:16,19).

(24-hour day) = (12-hour) day + (12-hour) night

The (12-hour) day begins with morning

The (12-hour) night begins with evening

So the Son of man’s stay in the heart of the earth touches 3 periods of 12-hour days and 3 periods of 12-hour nights.

What is the heart of the earth?

It is a location. The Bible teaches that the heart of the earth is Jerusalem, where Jesus was betrayed into the hands of men. Consider the following three quotes:

Matthew 20:18-19 “Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be betrayed unto the chief priests and unto the scribes, and they shall condemn him to death, and shall deliver him to the Gentiles to mock, and to scourge, and to crucify him: and the third day he shall rise again.”
Luke 18:32-33 “For he shall be delivered unto the Gentiles, and shall be mocked, and spitefully entreated, and spitted on, and they shall scourge him, and put him to death: and the third day he shall rise again.”
Mark 10:33-34 “Saying, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be delivered unto the chief priests, and unto the scribes; and they shall condemn him to death, and shall deliver him to the Gentiles and they shall mock him, and shall scourge him, and shall spit upon him, and shall kill him: and the third day he shall rise again.”

Therefore, Jesus’ stay in Jerusalem touches 3 periods of 12-hour days and 3 periods of 12-hour nights.

What is considered Jerusalem?

There are disputes as to what is considered Jerusalem. For example, is Calvary or Golgotha, which lies outside of the city walls part of Jerusalem? And is the Garden of Gethsemane which is located at the foot of mount of Olives, part of Jerusalem? This dispute can only be settled if we rely solely on the word of God.

To begin, both the old Jerusalem and the new Jerusalem are said to be perfect squares. Since the walls of Jerusalem are not a perfect square, they cannot be used to define what constitutes or what does not constitute Jerusalem. Consider the dimensions of new Jerusalem: “And the city lieth foursquare, and the length is as large as the breadth: and he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs. The length and the breadth and the height of it are equal.” (Revelation 21:16). In addition, the spiritual representation of where Jesus died is the Altar of Sacrifice, which is said to be perfect square: "And thou shalt make an altar of shittim wood, five cubits long, and five cubits broad; the altar shall be foursquare: and the height thereof shall be three cubits." Exodus 27:1.

The Bible teaches that at the top of the mount of Olives is the boundary line between Jerusalem and Bethphage. To the east side of this boundary line is Jerusalem, and to the west is Bethphage. Consider the following 2 quotes:

Zechariah 14:4 “And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south.”
Mark 11:1 “And when they came nigh to Jerusalem, unto Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount of Olives, he sendeth forth two of his disciples.” - As soon as the boundaries for Bethphage and Bethany ends, that is where Jerusalem begins. When Jesus was in Bethphage, He was “nigh” to Jerusalem.

Therefore, Jesus considers where he was betrayed (Garden of Gethsemane) to be part of Jerusalem, even though it is outside of the city wall. He also considers the place where He was crucified (Calvary or Golgotha) to be part of Jerusalem, even though it is outside of the city wall. For it is written: “Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be betrayed unto the chief priests and unto the scribes, and they shall condemn him to death, and shall deliver him to the Gentiles to mock, and to scourge, and to crucify him: and the third day he shall rise again.” (Matthew 20:18-19).

Our Passover

1 Corinthians 5:7

"Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us:"

The 14th.

All sacrifices and offerings point to the coming of Jesus, for He is that “Lamb slain from the foundation of the world”, and “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” (Revelation 13:8, John 1:29). While He is not the physical lamb that God slained to make coats for Adam and Eve, that physical lamb does represent Jesus dying on the cross of Calvary. The Bible teaches that Passover is on the 14th day of the first month in a biblical year. This is in direct contradiction to the belief that Passover is on the 15th day of the first month. Considered the following quotes:

Leviticus 23:5 “In the fourteenth day of the first month at even (twilight) is the LORD'S passover.”
Numbers 9:5 “And they kept the passover on the fourteenth day of the first month at even (twilight) in the wilderness of Sinai: according to all that the Lord commanded Moses, so did the children of Israel.”
Numbers 28:16 “And in the fourteenth day of the first month is the passover of the Lord.”
Ezra 6:19 “And the children of the captivity kept the passover upon the fourteenth day of the first month.”
Ezekiel 45:21 “In the first month, in the fourteenth day of the month, ye shall have the passover, a feast of seven days; unleavened bread shall be eaten.”
2 Chronicles 35:1 “Moreover Josiah kept a passover unto the Lord in Jerusalem: and they killed the passover on the fourteenth day of the first month.”

Therefore, Christ our Passover died on the 14th day of the first month.

What is on the 15th day?

There is a feast called the feast of unleavened bread which is found in the following passages:

Leviticus 23:6 “And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the feast of unleavened bread unto the Lord: seven days ye must eat unleavened bread.”
Numbers 28:17 “And in the fifteenth day of this month is the feast: seven days shall unleavened bread be eaten.”

The nuance.

On the day of the Passover, which is the 14th day of the first month, it was commanded that the children of Israel eat unleavened bread. See the following:

Exodus 12:6-8 “And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening. And they shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses, wherein they shall eat it. And they shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with fire, and unleavened bread; and with bitter herbs they shall eat it.”
Exodus 12:17-18 “And ye shall observe the feast of unleavened bread; for in this selfsame day have I brought your armies out of the land of Egypt: therefore shall ye observe this day in your generations by an ordinance for ever. In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at even, ye shall eat unleavened bread, until the one and twentieth day of the month at even.” - the words “feast of” are italicized because it was added by the translators.

For the above reason, Passover is also referred to as the first day of unleavened bread. In other words, the 14th day of the first month is also referred to as the first day of the unleavened bread. The total days of the children of Israel eating unleavened bread starts on the 14th day of the Passover, and ends on the last day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread on the 21st totaling 8 days.

The 14th day of Passover itself is not part of the seven-day feast of unleavened bread which starts on the 15th day of the month. But as you can see in Exodus 12:17 and Matthew 26:17, the words “feast of” are italicized because they were added by the translators.

Let us summarize in 2 points:

The first day of the unleavened bread starts on the 14th day of the first month and goes on for 8 days. Another name for this 8-day period is called the Passover also: “Now the feast of unleavened bread drew nigh, which is called the Passover.” Luke 22:1.
The first day of the feast of unleavened bread starts on the 15th day of the first month and goes on for 7 days.

Note: While the entire period from 14th-21st day of the first month is called the Passover, the 15th day is not referred to as the start or beginning of the Passover in the Scripture. For the Passover is both on and begins the 14th day.

3 Days and 3 Nights - Part I

The Lord’s Supper - 1 Corinthians 5:7-8

Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us: Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

The 1st 12-hour day and the 1st 12-hour night

On the 13th day of the month during the 12-hour day, Christ sent out Peter and John to prepare the Passover meal where He will be eating the Last Supper with them in Jerusalem. It is written: “And he sendeth forth two of his disciples, and saith unto them, Go ye into the city, and there shall meet you a man bearing a pitcher of water: follow him. And wheresoever he shall go in, say ye to the goodman of the house, The Master saith, Where is the guestchamber, where I shall eat the passover with my disciples? And he will shew you a large upper room furnished and prepared: there make ready for us. And his disciples went forth, and came into the city, and found as he had said unto them: and they made ready the Passover.” (Mark 14:13-16). When evening came, the 13th day had ended and the 14th day had begun. This is the 12-hour night where Jesus ate the Passover supper with His disciples. See the following verses:

Matthew 26:17 “Now the first day of the feast of unleavened bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying unto him, Where wilt thou that we prepare for thee to eat the passover?” - “feast of” are words added by the translators.
Mark 14:12 “And the first day of unleavened bread, when they killed the passover, his disciples said unto him, Where wilt thou that we go and prepare that thou mayest eat the passover?”
Luke 22:7-8 “Then came the day of unleavened bread, when the passover must be killed. And he sent Peter and John, saying, Go and prepare us the passover, that we may eat.”

While it is not mentioned that Jesus ate a lamb with His disciples during the Passover according to custom, it is mentioned that He instituted the feast of the Lord’s Supper. For the apostle Paul says: “For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, that the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread: And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, this cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come. Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.” 1 Corinthians 11:23-27. This is the same night in which Jesus was betrayed.

To summarize: The first 12-hour day was on the 13th day of the month and the first 12-hour night was on the 14th day of the month.

Morning and Evening:

Before we go into the second 12-hour day and the second 12-hour night of the sign of Jonah, we will dive into another new concept. A 24-hour day consists of two parts: a 12-hour day and 12-hour night. For it is written: “Are there not twelve hours in the day?” John 11:9.

Furthermore, a 12-hour day consists of two parts as well: the first 6-hour called morning and the second 6-hour called evening. The priests of the temple offer one lamb in the morning and one lamb in the evening (commonly known as afternoon in English). For it is written: “Now this is that which thou shalt offer upon the altar; two lambs of the first year day by day continually. The one lamb thou shalt offer in the morning; and the other lamb thou shalt offer at even.” Exodus 29:38-39, see also Numbers 28:3-4. The two sacrifices take place during the 12-hour day in which priests work. “I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.” (John 9:4).

The morning sacrifice takes place around the third hour of the day which is 9AM and the evening sacrifice takes place around the ninth hour of the day which is 3PM.

The 2nd 12-hour day

Jesus died soon after 3PM on the 14th day of the month during the time of the evening sacrifice, in which the veil of the temple was torn from top to bottom. The priest was about to slay its victim, but the knife dropped from his nerveless hand, and the lamb escaped. The type has met antitype in the death of God's Son. This event took place on the preparation day for the Sabbath that is soon to come. Thus, Christ, our Passover, died for us. The following are the four gospel accounts of the event.

Mark 15:33-37 “And when the sixth hour was come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? And some of them that stood by, when they heard it, said, Behold, he calleth Elias. And one ran and filled a spunge full of vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave him to drink, saying, Let alone; let us see whether Elias will come to take him down. And Jesus cried with a loud voice, and gave up the ghost.”
Matthew 27:45-50 “Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour. And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Some of them that stood there, when they heard that, said, This man calleth for Elias. And straightway one of them ran and took a spunge, and filled it with vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave him to drink. The rest said, Let be, let us see whether Elias will come to save him. Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost.”
Luke 23:44-46 “And it was about the sixth hour, and there was a darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour. And the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was rent in the midst. And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost.”
John 19:14,31,42 “And it was the preparation of the passover, and about the sixth hour: and he saith unto the Jews, Behold your King!...The Jews therefore, because it was the preparation, that the bodies should not remain upon the cross on the sabbath day, (for that sabbath day was an high day,) besought Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away…There laid they Jesus therefore because of the Jews' preparation day; for the sepulchre was nigh at hand.

The State of the Dead

The sleep - Ecclesiastes 9:5-6

"For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten. Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion for ever in any thing that is done under the sun."

After Christ died, His body was put into Joseph’s sepulcher and His soul went into hell. However, His soul was not left in hell because God the Father resurrected His own son. For it is written: “He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption. This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses.” and “Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared.” Hebrews 5:7.

What is a soul?

There are two types of souls described in the bible. 1) the living soul. And the 2) the sleeping soul.

When God created Adam, he is said to be a living soul: “And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.” Genesis 2:7. When a man dies, he enters into a sleep of unconsciousness. This is described in Ecclesiastes 9:5-6. Jesus also talks about this death as a sleep when commenting on His friend Lazarus, who laid in the tomb for 4 days: “These things said he: and after that he saith unto them, Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep. Then said his disciples, Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well. Howbeit Jesus spake of his death: but they thought that he had spoken of taking of rest in sleep. Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead.” John 11:11-14. And the soul of the dead man is said to reside in hell as the soul of Jesus is said to be in hell after He died on the cross. And in hell is where souls await for their resurrection: “some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.” Daniel 12:2.

What is the fire of hell?

The Bible also teaches that one day, at the end of the one thousand years, fire shall proceed from God and burn up death and hell along with all those who rejected the life of Jesus. For it is written: “And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.” Revelation 20:14-15.

While the world teaches that the fire from hell will torture the souls in hell eternally, the Scripture on the other hand teaches that fire from God will devour up death and hell once and for all. So in order to escape the so-called hell fire, we ought to find ourselves in the first resurrection prior to the 1000 years. And in speaking of the first resurrection, apostle Paul writes: “For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” 1 Thessalonians 4:14-17.

Summary.

So to summarize, when a man dies, his soul goes to hell. This condition in hell is described by Jesus as a sleep in which he has no consciousness until the resurrection time. Instead of the fire coming from hell to burn up men, it is actually the lake of fire which proceeds from God to burn up hell and death along with all those whose names are not found in the book of life. After the second death the soul shall be no more.

3 Days and 3 Nights - Part II

The Sabbath - Ezekiel 20:20

"And hallow my sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between me and you, that ye may know that I am the LORD your God."

The 2nd 12-hour night, and the 3rd 12-hour day

The seventh day Sabbath had its origin in the creation week: “And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.” Genesis 2:2-3.This day was also known as the Lord’s day for it is written: “For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day.” Matthew 12:8. This day was a gift from God to men to alleviate our burden and it is not intended to add burden to men. For Jesus said “The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath: Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.” Mark 2:27-28.

The false sabbath had its origin in the 4th century when Emperor Constantine dedicated the the first day of the week to the worship of the Sun. Few years later, Eusebius of Caesarea who is also known to be the flatterer of Constantine advanced the claim that Christ changed the Sabbath from the 7th day of the week to the 1st day of the week. In addition, Pope Sylvester I, the bishop of Rome during this time labelled the 1st day sabbath to be the Lord’s day. And it was through the trunity of these 3 persons that the Sabbath was changed from the 7th day of the week to the 1st day of the week.

On the seventh-day Sabbath, Christ's body was laid in the sepulcher. The chief priests and Pharisees were busy keeping the Sabbath in their own wicked ways. The account of their activity on this holy day are as the following:

“Now the next day, that followed the day of the preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees came together unto Pilate, Saying, Sir, we remember that that deceiver said, while he was yet alive, After three days I will rise again. Command therefore that the sepulchre be made sure until the third day, lest his disciples come by night, and steal him away, and say unto the people, He is risen from the dead: so the last error shall be worse than the first. Pilate said unto them, Ye have a watch: go your way, make it as sure as ye can. So they went, and made the sepulchre sure, sealing the stone, and setting a watch.” Matthew 27:62-66.

The disciples of Jesus on the other hand simply “rested the sabbath day according to the commandment.” Luke 23:56. For it is written in the 10 commandment: “Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.” Exodus 20:8-11.

As it was then, so it will be in the future. Christ’s disciples will keep His commandments because they love him. For Jesus says: “If ye love me, keep my commandments.” John 14:15. Those that are not Christ’s disciple will seek to change the Sabbath. “And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws”. Daniel 7:25. Only those that will receive the Bible as it reads will be keeping God's Sabbath, for that is the sign of Jonah. Seventh day means the seventh day.

The Resurrection! the 3rd 12-hour night

After the Sabbath which happened to be on the 15th day of the month, Christ was resurrected. He resurrected in the 12-hour night part of the 16th day and not the 12-hour day part of the 16th day. For when the disciples came to the sepulcher while it was yet dark, He was already resurrected. See the following 4 Gospel accounts:

Matthew 28:1 “In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre.”
Mark 16:1,2 “And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him. And very early in the morning the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun.”
Luke 24:1-2 “Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them. And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre.”
John 20:1 “The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre.”

Summary:

1st day - 13th day of the month, 5th day of the week, Jesus entered Jerusalem.

1st night - 14th day of the month, 6th day of the week, the preparation day, the passover, the institution of the Lord’s supper, the betrayal in the Garden of Gethsemane

2nd day - 14th day of the month, 6th day of the week, the preparation day, the passover, death on the Cross after 3PM.

2nd night - 15th day of the month, 7th day of the week, the Sabbath of the Lord, 1st day of the feast of unleavened bread

3rd day - 15th day of the month, 7th day of the week, the Sabbath of the Lord, 1st day of the feast of unleavened bread

3rd night - 16th day of the month, 1st day of the week, the resurrection

The sign of Jonah is to take the bible as it reads. Jonah did no miracles and the people of Nineveh believed his words. Solomon did no miracles, yet the Queen of Sheba believed his words. Will you believe in God's word?

Matthew 12:41-42

"The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here. The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here."