Food for thought: Was Jonah kept alive in the belly of the whale for 3 days?

[danschance]

Many Christians are of the belief that Jonah was kept alive by God for 3 days in the belly of the whale and so did I until recently.

I was surfing the web two weeks after I had read the book of Jonah and came across a post by a skeptic. He was arguing that Jonah could not of been alive after 3 days for various reasons. As I read his post I heard God speak to me, saying, "Jonah died". As I heard these words I also recalled the words of Jesus:

"For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth" Matt 12:40

I went back and re-read the book of Jonah and found some evidence that might also prove Jonah died in the whale. Here is what I found from Jonah chapter 2:

From deep in the REALM OF THE DEAD I called for help,
and you listened to my cry…

To the roots of the mountains I sank down;
the EARTH BENEATH BARRED ME IN FOREVER.

But you, LORD my God, brought my life up from the pit (Resurrection?)….

When MY LIFE WAS EBBING AWAY (dying),
I remembered you, LORD,

 

[kenisyes]

These quotes are quotes from Jonah, not God. They were how Jonah felt, not statements of fact. Besides, he was still in the fist when he said this prayer. In the early 1900's, there was a sea captain, who had been in the belly of a whale for two days, and had gotten out by making a fire. He was very weakened, and his skin had changed from the digestive juices. He made money by traveling and sharing his testimony.

 

[Love4Truth]

Many Christians are of the belief that Jonah was kept alive by God for 3 days in the belly of the whale and so did I until recently.

I was surfing the web two weeks after I had read the book of Jonah and came across a post by a skeptic. He was arguing that Jonah could not of been alive after 3 days for various reasons. As I read his post I heard God speak to me, saying, "Jonah died". As I heard these words I also recalled the words of Jesus:

"For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth" Matt 12:40

I went back and re-read the book of Jonah and found some evidence that might also prove Jonah died in the whale. Here is what I found from Jonah chapter 2:

From deep in the REALM OF THE DEAD I called for help,
and you listened to my cry…

To the roots of the mountains I sank down;
the EARTH BENEATH BARRED ME IN FOREVER.

But you, LORD my God, brought my life up from the pit (Resurrection?)….

When MY LIFE WAS EBBING AWAY (dying),
I remembered you, LORD,

I believe (the Nature) of Jonah died, yes.
The Same as our Saviour, when He was crucified, The Nature of all of us was put to death because He bore that Nature for us, and nailed it to His Cross.

This is why we hear Him Cry from the Cross, Father, Father, why has thou forsaken me. This was not Christ that cried, but the nature of us all, in our sin.

For as it is Written, "your sins has separated you from your God". He who knew no sin, "Became" sin for us.

The Nature that rose that Day, was The Nature of God.
The Heart of the earth, is "IN MAN".

This is what I believe He went into, The Heart of our Earth.

God Bless

 

[Newluke]

- If it says so in the Bible he did indeed survive for 3 days in the belly of that 'huge fish.'
- It was a fish though, not a 'whale.' Whales are mammals, not fish. Perhaps some unknown creature from the deep sea? Scientists are still discovering new species of fish at extreme depths.
- The connection with Christ crucified is a bit farfetched, I think. The big difference is that Jesus died willingly for our sins at the cross, while Jonah never chose to be swallowed up.

 

[lost1972]

why is it hard to believe God couldnt keep him alive for three days?

 

[danschance]

Reply to: Newluke

1) I am not aware of any scripture that states Jonah was kept alive in the belly of the whale. If you think there is a scripture that does state this, please post it.

2) The Hebrew words "gadowl dag"Literally mean great fish but have been translated as great fish, whale and sea monster. There is now word in Hebrew for whale or mammal.

3) Saying the connection is a bit far fetched means you need to read Matt. 12:38-45 again. The Lord himself said he would only give them the sign of Jonah.

[B For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth][/B]

Arabs use this concept of Jonah being alive and the sign of Jonah to discredit the bible. You see arabs believe Jesus never died in the tomb.

Personally, I believe the concept of Jonah not dying in the belly of the (great fish) to be a doctrine of demons that has infiltrated the minds of many Christians and is unfounded in scripture. I appreciate you post and hope you can find some good scriptures to that might support your position.

 

[danschance]

why is it hard to believe God couldnt keep him alive for three days?

Certainly God is able to keep Jonah alive and well in the belly of the whale. Certainly Jonah was alive for a time inside the belly of the whale also. However, it is also possible for God to allow Jonah to die and then resurrect him. We do see examples in the old testament of this with Elijah resurrecting the widow son and the dead man who touched Elisha's bones.

Keep in mind that to live inside the belly of a large fish or whale, there is limited air, HCL acid and peptides designed to digest flesh. It seems very logical to assume Jonah simply died and his death also being consistant with what Jesus said.


For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth

 

[Laodicea]

It looks like you are taking parts of the story and are changing it into something else.
Jonah 2:1 KJV
(1) Then Jonah prayed unto the LORD his God out of the fish's belly,
Jonah 2:5 KJV
(5) The waters compassed me about, even to the soul: the depth closed me round about, the weeds were wrapped about my head.

Verse 1 is clear that Jonah prayed out of the fish's belly.

 

[Laodicea]

Many Christians are of the belief that Jonah was kept alive by God for 3 days in the belly of the whale and so did I until recently.

I was surfing the web two weeks after I had read the book of Jonah and came across a post by a skeptic. He was arguing that Jonah could not of been alive after 3 days for various reasons. As I read his post I heard God speak to me, saying, "Jonah died". As I heard these words I also recalled the words of Jesus:

"For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth" Matt 12:40

I went back and re-read the book of Jonah and found some evidence that might also prove Jonah died in the whale. Here is what I found from Jonah chapter 2:

From deep in the REALM OF THE DEAD I called for help,
and you listened to my cry…

To the roots of the mountains I sank down;
the EARTH BENEATH BARRED ME IN FOREVER.

But you, LORD my God, brought my life up from the pit (Resurrection?)….

When MY LIFE WAS EBBING AWAY (dying),
I remembered you, LORD,

So your enlightenment came not from the Holy Spirit But, from a skeptic?

 

[Newluke]

Reply to: Newluke

1) I am not aware of any scripture that states Jonah was kept alive in the belly of the whale. If you think there is a scripture that does state this, please post it.

2) The Hebrew words "gadowl dag"Literally mean great fish but have been translated as great fish, whale and sea monster. There is now word in Hebrew for whale or mammal.

3) Saying the connection is a bit far fetched means you need to read Matt. 12:38-45 again. The Lord himself said he would only give them the sign of Jonah.

[B For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth][/b]

Arabs use this concept of Jonah being alive and the sign of Jonah to discredit the bible. You see arabs believe Jesus never died in the tomb.

Personally, I believe the concept of Jonah not dying in the belly of the (great fish) to be a doctrine of demons that has infiltrated the minds of many Christians and is unfounded in scripture. I appreciate you post and hope you can find some good scriptures to that might support your position.

1) I never said he was kept alive in the belly of a WHALE, but I guess you're comment was more about the 'being kept alive' part. Jonah 2:1 mentions Jonah praying to God for three days and nights; I can imagine that's very hard to do when you're dead.
2) If 'gadowl dag' literally means 'great fish' we should translate it as such, and not go for the interpretive translations like 'whale' or 'sea monster.' In my KJV for some reason Matthew still calls it a 'whale' though.
3) Jesus did indeed mention the parallel between His fate and that of Jonah in Matthew 12:40 (thank you for pointing that out to me). He doesn't mention Jonah DYING in the belly of the 'whale' though, like He doesn't explicitely speak of His own death. In verse 40 there are the 'three days' ofcourse, and the 'being in the belly of the 'whale'/ heart of the earth.' Jesus, in verse 40, compares ONLY these TWO aspects of His fate with that of Jonah, but that's it, 'death' isn't mentioned at all there. So I don't think you can use this verse to prove Jonah actually died.
4) No offense, but I don't care what the muslims think, I draw my own conclusions.

 

[danschance]

It looks like you are taking parts of the story and are changing it into something else.
Jonah 2:1 KJV
(1) Then Jonah prayed unto the LORD his God out of the fish's belly,
Jonah 2:5 KJV
(5) The waters compassed me about, even to the soul: the depth closed me round about, the weeds were wrapped about my head.

Verse 1 is clear that Jonah prayed out of the fish's belly.

@Laodecia

Yes, I certainly and completely agree Jonah was very much alive inside the great fish for a time and this is abundantly clear from the scriptures you posted. Still, these scriptures do not prove he did not die. Also there are no scriptures that say Jonah was miraculously kept alive.

Bottom line is we can not say with any certainty exactly what happened to Jonah while he was inside the stomach of this animal based on the information in the book of Jonah. On the other hand it is clear that Jesus said "For as Jonah 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"

So are you saying Jesus did not die in the tomb?

 

[nathan3]

If Jonah actually died. It would have not hid that fact from anyone. Just like Lazarus die and rose, and Christ we were told. Jonah didn't die because He was kept alive it says. And God didn't revel some new thing to you. It's all written.

 

[danschance]

why is it hard to believe God couldnt keep him alive for three days?

@LOST1972

God can do whatever He wishes. God could easily keep a man alive for 3 days in a whale's belly and for decades I believed this to be the case. Let me ask you a question. Why is it hard to believe Jonah died and was resurrected?

We see examples of this in both the old testament and new testament. So there is no doubt God could resurrect him.

Jesus said For as Jonah 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. So the real question is what did Jesus mean?

 

[danschance]

If Jonah actually died. It would have not hid that fact from anyone. Just like Lazarus die and rose, and Christ we were told. Jonah didn't die because He was kept alive it says. And God didn't revel some new thing to you. It's all written.

@Nathan3

Can you post the scripture that that says Jonah was kept alive? I would love to see it.

 

[nathan3]

@LOST1972

God can do whatever He wishes. God could easily keep a man alive for 3 days in a whale's belly and for decades I believed this to be the case. Let me ask you a question. Why is it hard to believe Jonah died and was resurrected?

We see examples of this in both the old testament and new testament. So there is no doubt God could resurrect him.

Jesus said For as Jonah 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. So the real question is what did Jesus mean?

Clearly Jonah is a type of teaching for the true Saviour Christ. I don't see anything wrong there because it says so in Matthew .


But here it says Jonah chapter 2 : 1 Then Jonah prayed unto the LORD his God out of the fish's belly,

2 And said, I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the LORD, and he heard me; out of the belly of hell cried I, and thou heardest my voice.

3 For thou hadst cast me into the deep, in the midst of the seas; and the floods compassed me about: all thy billows and thy waves passed over me.

4 Then I said, I am cast out of thy sight; yet I will look again toward thy holy temple.


It may not be a big thing or a big stretch to say Jonah died but its way to vague to assume that and to take some ones word that they heard something from the Lord. Rather then study. And took a stranger/skeptics advice . But I see people say: they heard some ''new thing'' for the Lord, and without and real study, they take it as fact and after awhile it spreads to other people , and before you know it everyone is believing a lie and a '''new'' teaching is born from it that steers people off coarse of the real truth. There a a bunch of examples of this today in main stream churches. that have adopted things that simply don't fit into scriptures.

just be careful.

 

[danschance]

So your enlightenment came not from the Holy Spirit But, from a skeptic?

@Laodicea

No, not at all. God used that post to tell me Jonah died. I have no idea why God chose the way He did but one thing is clear, I never get enlightenment from darkened minds. I had been praying that God would expose my false beliefs and correct them, before this. So I would hope my "enlightenment came from the Holy Spirit.

 

[Laodicea]

@Laodecia

Yes, I certainly and completely agree Jonah was very much alive inside the great fish for a time and this is abundantly clear from the scriptures you posted. Still, these scriptures do not prove he did not die. Also there are no scriptures that say Jonah was miraculously kept alive.

Bottom line is we can not say with any certainty exactly what happened to Jonah while he was inside the stomach of this animal based on the information in the book of Jonah. On the other hand it is clear that Jesus said "For as Jonah 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"

So are you saying Jesus did not die in the tomb?

The Bible does not say that Jonah died in the belly. Can you show me a verse that says Jonah died in the belly? Also Jesus did not die in the tomb, He died before He entered the tomb on the cross. So if you think everything is a example or type then Jonah would have to have died before he entered the belly as Jesus died before He entered the tomb.

 

[Laodicea]

@Laodicea

No, not at all. God used that post to tell me Jonah died. I have no idea why God chose the way He did but one thing is clear, I never get enlightenment from darkened minds.

Enlightenment does not come from skeptics only doubt and error.

 

[danschance]

Enlightenment does not come from skeptics only doubt and error.

I don't use the term "enlightenment". I used the term revealed.

Thanks for posting.

 

[Love4Truth]

If Jonah states that he was in Hell/Sheol is that not the place of the dead?

God Bless