"Heart of the Earth"?

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Meaning of "heart of the earth" in Matthew 12:40?

  • The Tomb

    Votes: 1 14.3%
  • Other

    Votes: 6 85.7%

  • Total voters
    7
  • Poll closed .

rstrats

Senior Member
Aug 28, 2011
744
43
28
#1
To what is the "heart of the earth" referring in Matthew 12:40?
 
Mar 4, 2020
8,614
3,691
113
#2
I think Matt. 12:40 is just referring to a tomb. As far as I know Jesus wasn’t literally buried in the Earth, but rather an above ground tomb with a big stone covering the entrance. I think Jesus is just using figurative language to say He’ll be enclosed in a tomb and dead for three days and nights.

It’s possible to infer from Jonah 2 that Jonah died enclosed in the belly of the fish and remained dead for three days before the fish vomited him out. That’s how Jesus’s comparison to Jonah makes sense to me.

See this verse for example:

Jonah 2:2
2He said:
“In my distress I called to the Lord,
and he answered me.
From deep in the realm of the dead I called for help,
and you listened to my cry.

So a fish’s stomach isn’t the realm of the dead. Did Jonah die and wrote down his prayer later?

The book of Jonah seems to be anonymous, but who else would have known Jonah’s prayer from the realm of the dead except Jonah?
 

Chester

Senior Member
May 23, 2016
4,314
1,442
113
#5
To what is the "heart of the earth" referring in Matthew 12:40?
"Heart of the earth" in Matt. 12:40 refers to Hades (Greek) or Sheol (Hebrew): that is, the place of departed spirits, likely in the center of the Earth.
 

John146

Senior Member
Jan 13, 2016
17,131
3,689
113
#6
Hell (English) is located in the heart of the earth.
 

Webers.Home

Well-known member
May 28, 2018
5,830
1,073
113
Oregon
cfbac.org
#7
.
Jesus likened his afterlife experience with Jonah's (Matt 12:40). Well; Jonah
was in two places simultaneously: the belly of a fish and the belly of sheol.

He described sheol as located at the bottoms of the mountains and closed off
with bars; which in those days referred to heavy beams commonly employed
to secure city gates.

Jesus mentioned the gates of Hades in Matt 16:18, which I suspect are likely
the same inferred by Jonah's bars. (Hades is the Greek equivalent of sheol)

* Not everyone agrees Jonah was deceased at some time inside the fish, but
the language of Jonah 2:6 strongly suggests he was in danger of undergoing
putrefaction. (cf. Ps 16:10 & Acts 2:27-31)
_
 

Pilgrimshope

Well-known member
Sep 2, 2020
14,181
5,727
113
#8
To what is the "heart of the earth" referring in Matthew 12:40?
His body would be in the grave three days like Jonah was in the whale three days and then as Jonah reappears from a figure of certain death, Christ would rise on the third day and appear tonthe people as Moses pattern shows us on exodus being witnessed by several disciples

“and be ready against the third day: for the third day the LORD will come down in the sight of all the people upon mount Sinai.”
‭‭Exodus‬ ‭19:11‬ ‭KJV‬‬

Jesus is heartening back to Jonah and when he was swallowed by the whale using this example to preach of his death and resurrection three days after in glory.

Later he was taken up into heaven and away from the world but sent his spirit back 40 days after at pentocost being seated on his throne after the figure of Moses and the fourty day flood is fulfilled. The new covenant is now in effect at pentecost after fourty days of doctrine , as it was made with noah after fourty days of rain

See if we read this

“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.”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭12:40‬ ‭


Preceding it is what leads there

“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:”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭12:38-39‬ ‭KJV‬‬

he’s saying they will receive the sign of my resurrection after three days in the grave

He was telling them about it plainly but they weren’t supposed to understand yet having no Holy Ghost

“Then he took unto him the twelve, and said unto them, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of man shall be accomplished.

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.

And they understood none of these things: and this saying was hid from them, neither knew they the things which were spoken.”
‭‭Luke‬ ‭18:31-34‬ ‭KJV‬‬

later though after he died and people were saying he rose

“He is not here, but is risen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee, saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again. And they remembered his words,”
‭‭Luke‬ ‭24:6-8‬ ‭

They were starting to think about it and remember what he had foretold and what happened to him

my point is he’s just simply using the example of Jonah being swallowed by the whale for three days to teach about his death and burial three days in the tomb within a rock of the earth.

he would be in The grave three days as Jonah was in the whales belly three days and emerged alive after
 
Mar 4, 2020
8,614
3,691
113
#9
.
Jesus likened his afterlife experience with Jonah's (Matt 12:40). Well; Jonah
was in two places simultaneously: the belly of a fish and the belly of sheol.


He described sheol as located at the bottoms of the mountains and closed off
with bars; which in those days referred to heavy beams commonly employed
to secure city gates.


Jesus mentioned the gates of Hades in Matt 16:18, which I suspect are likely
the same inferred by Jonah's bars. (Hades is the Greek equivalent of sheol)


* Not everyone agrees Jonah was deceased at some time inside the fish, but
the language of Jonah 2:6 strongly suggests he was in danger of undergoing
putrefaction. (cf. Ps 16:10 & Acts 2:27-31)
_
I think both voting otpions are correct.

Clearly Jonah was in the belly of a fish and Jesus was inside of a tomb. I believe that Jonah and Jesus physically died or else the "sign of Jonah" Jesus spoke of wouldn't be an exact match so the comparison would maybe be 50% accurate.

And there's evidence Jonah went to the realm of the dead of Sheol. And Jesus went to the realm of the dead too.

If Jonah did indeed die, which I think he did, then that means he was resurrected after three days and three nights once the fish vomitted him out onto dry land.

Jonah 2:10
10And the LORD commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.


Jonah 3:1,2
1Then the word of the LORD came to Jonah a second time:
2Get up! Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message that I give you.”