Jonah Died and went to Hell

  • Christian Chat is a moderated online Christian community allowing Christians around the world to fellowship with each other in real time chat via webcam, voice, and text, with the Christian Chat app. You can also start or participate in a Bible-based discussion here in the Christian Chat Forums, where members can also share with each other their own videos, pictures, or favorite Christian music.

    If you are a Christian and need encouragement and fellowship, we're here for you! If you are not a Christian but interested in knowing more about Jesus our Lord, you're also welcome! Want to know what the Bible says, and how you can apply it to your life? Join us!

    To make new Christian friends now around the world, click here to join Christian Chat.
Chris1975

Chris1975

Senior Member
#1
Apr 27, 2017
2,492
517
113
#1
I am posting this topic because of the chatroom question raised over Jonah in the belly of the fish, and all of the surrounding debate around this. I believe the bible can be taken literally in terms of what transpired. Lets analyse these verses:

Jonah 1
17 Now the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.
Jonah 2
2 Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the fish’s belly. 2 And he said:
“I cried out to the Lord because of my affliction,
And He answered me.
“Out of the belly of Sheol I cried,
And You heard my voice.
3 For You cast me into the deep,
Into the heart of the seas,
And the floods surrounded me;
All Your billows and Your waves passed over me.
4 Then I said, ‘I have been cast out of Your sight;
Yet I will look again toward Your holy temple.’
5 The waters surrounded me, even to my soul;
The deep closed around me;
Weeds were wrapped around my head.
6 I went down to the moorings of the mountains;
The earth with its bars closed behind me forever;
Yet You have brought up my life from the pit,
O Lord, my God.
7 “When my soul fainted within me,
I remembered the Lord;
And my prayer went up to You,
Into Your holy temple.
8 “Those who regard worthless idols
Forsake their own [b]Mercy.
9 But I will sacrifice to You
With the voice of thanksgiving;
I will pay what I have vowed.
Salvation is of the Lord.”
10 So the Lord spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.

>We can take this account from Jonah LITERALLY. He was swallowed by a fish. He (his BODY) was in the fish 3 days. There is no suitable living environment within a fish (air pocket, condominium, economy class seating). Jonah died. He wasn't being preserved alive within the fish.
>Jonah gives the account - out of Sheol (Hell) he cried out. This is not to create a precedent that others can cry out from hell and be delivered in the same way. No. It just means that God is sovereign and can do as He pleases. He can bring low and He can lift up.
>Jonah's body was in the fish but his soul was in Sheol.
>Hell looks to be a place under the earth for this is where Jonah describes it.
>We also see with the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, the rich man saying engaging with Father Abraham. Conversation/communication is possible within this spiritual nether realm.
>So it is not impossible for Jonah to call out to God from Sheol, and his prayer went up to the Holy Temple.

Now we have an interesting account coming from the Words of our Lord:

Matthew 12
38 Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered, saying, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from You."
39 But He answered and said to them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40 For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
>Jonah Died and Jesus Died.
>Jonah was alive after 3 days, Jesus was alive after 3 days.
 
Chris1975

Chris1975

Senior Member
#2
Apr 27, 2017
2,492
517
113
#2
2 Corinthians 12
2 I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago—whether in the body I do not know, or whether out of the body I do not know, God knows—such a one was caught up to the third heaven. 3 And I know such a man—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows— 4 how he was caught up into Paradise and heard inexpressible words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.

And the opposite event, one who has been into heaven.
 
Webers.Home

Webers.Home

Well-known member
#3
May 28, 2018
5,893
1,084
113
Oregon
#3
.
● Jonah 1:17 . . The Lord provided a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah
was inside the fish three days and three nights.

FAQ: Was Jonah alive in the fish?

A: Yes. (Jonah 2:1)

FAQ: The whole time?

A: No.

At some point in his nautical adventure Jonah went to a place called sheol
(Jonah 2:2) which he sited at the roots of the mountains. (Jonah 2:6)

Well; the roots of the mountains aren't located in the tummies of fish, no;
they're located down deep in the Earth. So, the only way that Jonah could
possibly be at the roots of the mountains while in the belly of a fish at the
same time was for the man and his body to part company and go their
separate ways.

Jonah 2:1-2 tells of two prayers: a first prayer that Jonah prayed from sheol,
and a second prayer that he prayed from the fish's tummy.

And then there's Jesus . . .

● Matt 12:40 . . 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.

"as Jonah . . so the Son of Man" indicates that the circumstances of Jesus'
afterlife experience parallel Jonah's.

Now when you think about it; Jesus' corpse was never in the heart of the
Earth. It wasn't even in the Earth's soil. His corpse was laid to rest on the
surface of the Earth in a rock-hewn tomb.

So the only way that Jesus could possibly be in a tomb on the surface of the
Earth while in the heart of the Earth at the same time; was for the man and
his body to part company and go their separate ways.

Just before being cast ashore, Jonah prayed thus:

● Jonah 2:6 . . You brought my life up from the pit, O Lord my God.

The Hebrew word for "pit" in that verse speaks of putrefaction.

The very same Hebrew word is located in Ps 16:8-10 --which Acts 2:25-31
verifies is speaking of putrefaction; viz: Jonah 2:6 tells of the prophet's flesh
just as Ps 16:8-10 and Acts 2:25-31 tell of Christ's flesh. In other words:
Jonah 2:6 tells of Jonah's resurrection; which is precisely the sign that Jesus
intended.

● John 2:18-22 . .Then answered the Jews and said unto him, What sign
shewest thou unto us, seeing that thou doest these things?

. . . Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three
days I will raise it up.

. . .Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and
wilt thou rear it up in three days? But he spake of the temple of his body.
When therefore he was risen from the dead, his disciples remembered that
he had said this unto them.

So then, just as Jonah's soul was not left at the bottoms of the mountains,
Christ's soul was not left in the heart of the earth. And just as Jonah's body
was not left to decompose in the fish, neither was Christ's body left to
decompose in the tomb. And just as Jonah came back from his grave within
three days and nights, so Jesus came back from his grave within three days
and nights.

If none of this were so, then the story of Jonah would be a pretty useless
parallel to the story of Christ's death and resurrection.
_
 
J

JohnW34

Banned
#4
Jan 5, 2020
263
60
28
#4
interesting question - did Jonah die?

Whether he died or was just preserved in a comatose state, it does not change the story.
The analogy with Jesus, makes more sense that he actually died and God raised him from the dead.

I had thought previously that the bleaching of his skin would be the "sign" but much more the come back
from the dead sign, is 100% more significant, especially in that day, swallowed by a fish, the end.

Jonah was sailing away from Nineveh at the time, so the fish had to carry him back so he could then make
his way to Nineveh to preach.
 
Webers.Home

Webers.Home

Well-known member
#5
May 28, 2018
5,893
1,084
113
Oregon
#5
.
JohnW34 said:
Jonah was sailing away from Nineveh at the time, so the fish had to carry
him back so he could then make his way to Nineveh to preach.
Click to expand...

Jonah took ship at Joppa, which was on Israel's west coast. He was bound for
Tarshish, which was located in Spain at that time. So I think it's safe to
assume that Jonah's nautical adventure took place in the Mediterranean Sea.

The ruins of Ninevah are thought to be located roughly twelve miles
northeast of Mosul Iraq as the crow flies; which itself is roughly 397 miles
inland from the Med as the crow flies.

I've always been curious how Jonah's experience was a sign to the people of
Nineveh when he came ashore so far from the city that surely no one there
actually saw him exit the fish.
_
 
Chris1975

Chris1975

Senior Member
#6
Apr 27, 2017
2,492
517
113
#6
Webers.Home said:
.



Jonah took ship at Joppa, which was on Israel's west coast. He was bound for
Tarshish, which was located in Spain at that time. So I think it's safe to
assume that Jonah's nautical adventure took place in the Mediterranean Sea.

The ruins of Ninevah are thought to be located roughly twelve miles
northeast of Mosul Iraq as the crow flies; which itself is roughly 397 miles
inland from the Med as the crow flies.

I've always been curious how Jonah's experience was a sign to the people of
Nineveh when he came ashore so far from the city that surely no one there
actually saw him exit the fish.
_
Click to expand...
Jonah 3v3 says Nineveh was a three day journey. So I suspect 397 miles would have been a yard too far (mind the pun).
 
J

John146

Senior Member
#7
Jan 13, 2016
17,155
3,697
113
#7
Chris1975 said:
I am posting this topic because of the chatroom question raised over Jonah in the belly of the fish, and all of the surrounding debate around this. I believe the bible can be taken literally in terms of what transpired. Lets analyse these verses:

Jonah 1
17 Now the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.
Jonah 2
2 Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the fish’s belly. 2 And he said:
“I cried out to the Lord because of my affliction,
And He answered me.
“Out of the belly of Sheol I cried,
And You heard my voice.
3 For You cast me into the deep,
Into the heart of the seas,
And the floods surrounded me;
All Your billows and Your waves passed over me.
4 Then I said, ‘I have been cast out of Your sight;
Yet I will look again toward Your holy temple.’
5 The waters surrounded me, even to my soul;
The deep closed around me;
Weeds were wrapped around my head.
6 I went down to the moorings of the mountains;
The earth with its bars closed behind me forever;
Yet You have brought up my life from the pit,
O Lord, my God.
7 “When my soul fainted within me,
I remembered the Lord;
And my prayer went up to You,
Into Your holy temple.
8 “Those who regard worthless idols
Forsake their own [b]Mercy.
9 But I will sacrifice to You
With the voice of thanksgiving;
I will pay what I have vowed.
Salvation is of the Lord.”
10 So the Lord spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.

>We can take this account from Jonah LITERALLY. He was swallowed by a fish. He (his BODY) was in the fish 3 days. There is no suitable living environment within a fish (air pocket, condominium, economy class seating). Jonah died. He wasn't being preserved alive within the fish.
>Jonah gives the account - out of Sheol (Hell) he cried out. This is not to create a precedent that others can cry out from hell and be delivered in the same way. No. It just means that God is sovereign and can do as He pleases. He can bring low and He can lift up.
>Jonah's body was in the fish but his soul was in Sheol.
>Hell looks to be a place under the earth for this is where Jonah describes it.
>We also see with the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, the rich man saying engaging with Father Abraham. Conversation/communication is possible within this spiritual nether realm.
>So it is not impossible for Jonah to call out to God from Sheol, and his prayer went up to the Holy Temple.

Now we have an interesting account coming from the Words of our Lord:

Matthew 12
38 Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered, saying, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from You."
39 But He answered and said to them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40 For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
>Jonah Died and Jesus Died.
>Jonah was alive after 3 days, Jesus was alive after 3 days.
Click to expand...
Agreed brother. Jonah's body was in the whale a type of tomb, but his soul was in hell. Btw, it was a whale. Stick with the KJV, it's hell and a whale.
 
Webers.Home

Webers.Home

Well-known member
#8
May 28, 2018
5,893
1,084
113
Oregon
#8
.
Chris1975 said:
Jonah 3v3 says Nineveh was a three day journey.
Click to expand...

Jonah 3:3 describes Nineveh as an exceeding great city; so I think it's safe
to assume that the three-day journey refers to a measure of Nineveh itself,
viz: its entire metropolis; which of course would include its suburbs and its
agricultural lands.
_
 
Chris1975

Chris1975

Senior Member
#9
Apr 27, 2017
2,492
517
113
#9
Webers.Home said:
.



Jonah 3:3 describes Nineveh as an exceeding great city; so I think it's safe
to assume that the three-day journey refers to a measure of Nineveh itself,
viz: its entire metropolis; which of course would include its suburbs and its
agricultural lands.
_
Click to expand...
Yup I agree with you. So your distances are plausible.
 
J

John146

Senior Member
#10
Jan 13, 2016
17,155
3,697
113
#10
Webers.Home said:
.



Jonah 3:3 describes Nineveh as an exceeding great city; so I think it's safe
to assume that the three-day journey refers to a measure of Nineveh itself,
viz: its entire metropolis; which of course would include its suburbs and its
agricultural lands.
_
Click to expand...
And Jonah traveled a days journey, about a third way through, before he began preaching.
 
L

Locoponydirtman

Guest
#11
#11
Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the stomach of the fish,
Jonah 2:1 NASB
, And said. ...
So Jonah used poetic hyperbole to describe his situation.
The literal part of this chapter is verse 1, the rest is Jonah from the fish saying stuff to God. And he was clearly given to hyperbole, he wanted to die because a worm ate his shade tree.
Understanding the English language and literary devices is kind of important. I saw this thread and thought I was about to read something interesting, but found more nonsense.
 
Chris1975

Chris1975

Senior Member
#12
Apr 27, 2017
2,492
517
113
#12
Locoponydirtman said:
Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the stomach of the fish,
Jonah 2:1 NASB
, And said. ...
So Jonah used poetic hyperbole to describe his situation.
The literal part of this chapter is verse 1, the rest is Jonah from the fish saying stuff to God. And he was clearly given to hyperbole, he wanted to die because a worm ate his shade tree.
Understanding the English language and literary devices is kind of important. I saw this thread and thought I was about to read something interesting, but found more nonsense.
Click to expand...
You could be wrong. And you are now.
 
L

Locoponydirtman

Guest
#13
#13
Sometimes I wonder how many of you guys are actually cartoon characters.
 
L

Locoponydirtman

Guest
#14
#14
Chris1975 said:
You could be wrong. And you are now.
Click to expand...
Reading comprehension ain't your strong suit huh? Well, I guess we have to ignore that verse one, says that he prayed to the Lord from... Where? .... The belly of the fish.
But hey you made an emphatic statement so it must be true.... All hail the mighty Chris, he has interpreted the scriptures and we must now down to him. Because why? Who knows. He left out verse one that sets up the whole chapter. Peace, you don't have to respond to me it's not my job to convince you of anything.
 
J

John146

Senior Member
#15
Jan 13, 2016
17,155
3,697
113
#15
Locoponydirtman said:
Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the stomach of the fish,
Jonah 2:1 NASB
, And said. ...
So Jonah used poetic hyperbole to describe his situation.
The literal part of this chapter is verse 1, the rest is Jonah from the fish saying stuff to God. And he was clearly given to hyperbole, he wanted to die because a worm ate his shade tree.
Understanding the English language and literary devices is kind of important. I saw this thread and thought I was about to read something interesting, but found more nonsense.
Click to expand...
Jonah's prayer in chapter 2 is a prayer of deliverance after 3 days and 3 nights, and yet he had no been delivered from the belly of the whale. Hmmmmmm....what's he been delivered from? Hell.

1:17 Now the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.

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 (past tense) unto the Lord, and he heard me; out of the belly of hell cried I, (that's not the whale) and thou heardest my voice. There's no reason not to take this literally.
 
Chris1975

Chris1975

Senior Member
#16
Apr 27, 2017
2,492
517
113
#16
Locoponydirtman said:
Reading comprehension ain't your strong suit huh? Well, I guess we have to ignore that verse one, says that he prayed to the Lord from... Where? .... The belly of the fish.
But hey you made an emphatic statement so it must be true.... All hail the mighty Chris, he has interpreted the scriptures and we must now down to him. Because why? Who knows. He left out verse one that sets up the whole chapter. Peace, you don't have to respond to me it's not my job to convince you of anything.
Click to expand...
Did the fish have gas?
Was it a methane type environment?
How much O2 do you think he had before he ran out of air (3 days worth?)

But feel free to ignore all the references to hell.
 
J

John146

Senior Member
#17
Jan 13, 2016
17,155
3,697
113
#17
John146 said:
Jonah's prayer in chapter 2 is a prayer of deliverance after 3 days and 3 nights, and yet he had no been delivered from the belly of the whale. Hmmmmmm....what's he been delivered from? Hell.

1:17 Now the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.

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 (past tense) unto the Lord, and he heard me; out of the belly of hell cried I, (that's not the whale) and thou heardest my voice. There's no reason not to take this literally.
Click to expand...
If Jonah didn't die and his soul went to hell, then the Lord didn't die. Jesus stated, as Jonah so am I. But the Lord's body did not see corruption as Jonah experienced.
 
J

John146

Senior Member
#18
Jan 13, 2016
17,155
3,697
113
#18
John146 said:
If Jonah didn't die and his soul went to hell, then the Lord didn't die. Jesus stated, as Jonah so am I. But the Lord's body did not see corruption as Jonah experienced.
Click to expand...
Acts 2
31 He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption.
32 This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses.
 
Chris1975

Chris1975

Senior Member
#19
Apr 27, 2017
2,492
517
113
#19
John146 said:
Acts 2
31 He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption.
32 This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses.
Click to expand...
And...

1 Peter 3
18 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring [f]us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit, 19 by whom also He went and preached to the spirits in prison, 20 who formerly were disobedient, when once the Divine longsuffering waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.