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Referring to Ninaveh assignment, DID JONAH DIE?

Good question..

Jesus, says he did.

Common sense, and logic dictate, no man can live in the belly of a great fish, for three days and nights.

This great truth, reveals another one, God raised Jonah, from the dead also.

Jonah's own words, seem to conclude he died by his own testimony, see;

Jonah 2
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.
5  The waters compassed me about, even to the soul: the depth closed me round about, the weeds were wrapped about my head.
6  I went down to the bottoms of the mountains; the earth with her bars was about me for ever: yet hast thou brought up my life from corruption, O LORD my God.
7  When my soul fainted within me I remembered the LORD: and my prayer came in unto thee, into thine holy temple.
8  They that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy.
9  But I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that that I have vowed. Salvation is of the LORD.
10  And the LORD spake unto the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land.

Jonah, who is credited with writing this book, certainly would be in a more believable position  to testify concerning his condition, contrast vs 6 above with;

Peters words at;

Acts 2
22  Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know:
23  Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain:
24  Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it.
25  For David speaketh concerning him, I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved:
26  Therefore did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad; moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope:
27  Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.
28  Thou hast made known to me the ways of life; thou shalt make me full of joy with thy countenance.
29  Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day.
30  Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne;
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.


Jesus likened Jonahs experience to a sign, given to an believing and preverse generation, but had they known and believed, the scriptures tell us, they would never have caused
the Lord of Glory to be put to death. (1 Cor 2:6-8)

So, I doubt Jesus, would have used Jonah as an sign of His death, and resurrection, since if Jonah didn't die, it was no true sign at all.

Blessings,
Petro

Now I will quote Jonah 2, from the JPS Hebrew-English TANAKH PUBLISHED by The Jewish Publication Society, Second Edition 1999.

It has been particularly helpful in clearing up, tough passages, where the greek word is clouded.  I lean towards the Hebrew-English translation moreso in these cases than the Wescott & Hort Greek Translation of 1881, on which the newer english versions are founded on.

According to sources, this is an excellent Hebrew-English Translation, and I use it for reference, to verify the context of verses and passages.

Jonah 2
The Lord provided a huge fish to swallow Jonah; and Jonah remained in the fish's belly three days and three nights.
2  Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the belly of the fish.
3  He said;

In my trouble I called to the Lord,
And He answered me;
From ther belly of sheol I cried out,
And you heard my voice.
4  You cast me into the depths,
Into the heart of the sea.
The floods engulfed me;
All your breakers and billows
Swept over me.
5  I thought I was driven away
Out of Your sight;
Would I gaze again
Upon your holy Temple?
6  The waters closed in over me.
The deep engulfed me.
Weeds twined around my head.
7  I sank to the base of the mountains;
The bars of the earth closed upon me forever.
Yet you brought my life up from the pit,
O lord my God!
8  When my life was ebbing away,
I called the Lord to mind;
And my prayer came before You,
Into your holy Temple.
9  They who cling to empty folly
Forsake their own welfare,
10  But, I with loud thanksgiving
Will sacrifice to You;
What I have vowed I will perform.
Deliverance is the Lord's!
11  The Lord commanded the fish, and it
spewed Jonah out upon dry land.

Note verse 8, Jonah says his life was "ebbing away".

The following has nothing to do with scripture or Jonah's and Jesus's death, but is just somehting I was thinking of,  from my days as an Emergency Medical Technician, when I worked in the Fire Service.

Science has classified death into two categories ;

There is a clinical death; this death is a type of death diagnosed with instruments outside of the Laboratory, for instance in the field, a stethescope, and penlight can be used to ascertain the first stages of what is known as "clinical death",people experienceing this form of death, can be resusitated (electric shock etc..) time is of the essence, since brain death begins at this point and severe brain damage can occur in the next 5 to 7 minutes unless successful ventilation and blood circulation is not established, people can be maintained with the help of machines in this condition indefinetly, and  this diagnosis when made, starts the clock ticking towards what is known as "biologiocal death" or "brain death" or after the formalities are taken care of  what is known as "legal death", "brain death occurs, when the brain cease to function, there is not hope for resuscitating such a patient.

In either case, once death begins to take its course, there is nothing the indiviual who is experiencing the symptom can do to reverse the death which is imminent and irreversible..  The only hope is outside intervention, whether it be  Gods providential hand in the matter, or  medical assistance.

Back to Jonah..............notice verse 3, Jonah says he was in the belly Sheol when he cried out to the Lord.

It sounds to me as though Jonah cried out to the Lord as he was dieing.

I would call your attention to Jesus's last words;

Jhn 19
30  ..................., It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.

Mk 15
37  And Jesus cried with a loud voice, and gave up the ghost.

Lk 23
46  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.

Almost the same thing; Jesus cried out to God, and All agree He died.


Blessings,

Petro

Hm. I hadn't heard of this before. I believe Jonah was a type of CHrist, as was David, but I think the barring in forever-he wasn't barred in forever. So I take this to mean he thought he would be. In the same way David didn't die, nor did Isaac actually, die, the testimony or prophecy behind it remains intact.
Moreover, it can happen. God is omnipotent. Besides, we have had survivors from the belly of a whale as late as the 1960's off the coast of Florida.

The Bible doesn't say anything about Jonah, being a type of Christ, this is someones ideas written in commentaries.

Jonah died, and was in the belly of the great  fish three days and three nights.


The scriptures delcare that David died, Issac died, their bodies have long since corrupted, they will be raised in the due time.

May I call your attention to what the scriptures declare concerning David;

Acts 13
36  For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell on sleep, and was laid unto his fathers, and saw corruption:

Speaking of his physical body.

David spoke of Jesus,

Acts 2
29  Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day.
30  Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne;
31  He seeing this before spake of the ressurection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption.


As for, your quote;


these are nothing more than myths, there is no evidence a man has ever survived in the belly of any kind of fish or whale, for three days and nights, except in scripture.
and his name was Jonah.

He lived to tell His story, because God raised him from the dead.

Blerssings,

Petro

I think the greatest of the miracles concerning Jonah, was that he walked over 300 miles in 3 days. I mean, even without resting, that's over four miles an hour.

Eyeball

i'd really be interested in hearing where you get your information.  first off it never says how big ninevah is.  second, jonah only walked one day's journey.  not three.

Ah, I see my mistake. Thank you for keeping me honest. Now we do not have a miracle, but a verse that is inconsistant with archeology. From Jonah-Jonah did not walk three days from the sea shore. That's originally what I thought. This part of the verse was describing Nineveh's diameter. At 20 miles a day, easily walked by a moderately healthy person, Nineveh would have been larger than Los Angeles. This would have probably been the largest city in the world, back then, and larger than most, if not all cities now.

Eyeball

Actually, it does.
But He answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall be no sign 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. Matthew 12:39-40


I'm referring to the propetic acts, such as when Isaac was about to be sacrificed, but the Lord provided a ram in the thicket. Isaac didn't die in the process of this prophetic act. David was a prophet, too, in the clearly messianic Psalm 22.
v1: My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?
v16:Dogs have surrounded me; a band of evil men has encircled me, they have pierced my hands and my feet.
v18: They divide my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing.

Yet David was not crucified. This is prophecy-he was a type of Christ.


Negatives are hard to prove. Moreover, I'll look for the resource.


The scriptures do not say this. In the same way Abraham and Isaac's prophetic act did not cost them their lives, and in the way David was not crucified in order to pen what is obviously a messianic Psalm 22, I see evidence only that Jonah thought he was barred in. But it does not say he died. Only that he had been swallowed.

Thank you; blessings to you as well.

whitehorse,

To deny that Jonah died, and was resurrected is to deny that Jesus died and rose from the dead, while making the point he (Jonah) was a type of christ and rejecting that Jonah died, you simply kill your own argument, bacause it removes the central point of the gosple, that Christ died]/b].

Abraham simply prophecied what he knew, and believed in his heart, it is spoken of in Heb 11:17-19.

David being a Prophet, prophecied words he himself would have understood, the significance of which were not revealed  to others, he knew that from his loins should the suffering Messiah  come and, sit on his throne forever.

The fact is, the sign of Jonah  which Jesus refered to, that he spent three days and nights in the fishes belly, is insignificant in itself, but add the death and resurrection to it, and now you have the the central teaching of the gosple

So, what I am saying is, that Jesus in using Jonah as an example of a sign from Himself, which is what they who sought Him desired was to be give them a sign, and He gave them a sign which perfectly exemplified the Gosple of the Lord  Jesus Christ.

They looked for the messiah, but they knew Him not.

This portion of the story, three days and night in the fishes belly are given as a sign likened to His three days and nights in the belly of the earth but, Jesus goes on to mention that Jonah preached and nineveh believed and repented, and that the generation that repented would rise in judgement with the generation Jesus spoke to condemn it because they repented at the preaching of Jonah's ,

Then, Jesus emphasizes this last point when He says;  and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here. (Mat 12:41)

This was the meat of the sign; that He the Son of God in the form of a man, had come to preach the Word of God.



Blessings,

Petro

I do love the scriptures you chose, and we agree that Jonah was a type. But I'm still not seeing the scripture about Jonah's death. For him to live would not be removing any part of the gospel because the gospel is about Jesus, not Jonah.  Since it wasn't Jonah who actually paid the price for our sins, but Jesus, death would not be a requirement for Jonah. So for Jonah to live throughout his unwitting prophecy does not change the gospel at all, because it is only relevant that Jesus died. Jonah's job was to typify Jesus, not become Jesus. Several prophets typified Him but did not die physically to make these prophecies, much in the way that when we become Christians, we are baptized to display our symbolic death with Jesus, but we do not die physically to demonstrate our Christianity. So we identify with Him, but not through physical death as a testimony. (Of course we all die at some point, but not to identify with Christ, for it is written that God will destroy those who destroy His temple.)

And Jonah did in fact typify Jesus, as did David and Isaac, neither of whom died in the process of creating their prophecies. David was not crucified, and although Abraham trusted God to raise the son of promise, Isaac never died either on that altar. Yet the prophecy was still given by them. By the reasoning that Jonah had to die, so would David every time he wrote a messianic psalm. But God did not require that, nor are any of the prophecies denigrated by this fact. So unless scripture says Jonah died, I'm reluctant to adopt the view, but we do agree that Jonah was a prophet and a type of Jesus Christ.

Blessings to you.

whitehorse,


Look, lets look at this from another angle.

When you talk about, David being a type of Christ, What does that mean? or Isaac, you admit neither died for anyones sin, Isaac, didn't even prophecy as David did, the scriptures call David a prophet of God, and they (scriptures) say nothing conrcerning Issac's experience.

So how is it they bothe can be considered Christ type??

When your thru explaining this, then lest consider Jonah, whom Jesus himself uses his experience, that of being swallowed by a great fish God had prepared, dying and resurrected by God, to prove he was sent by God to these people of nineveh.

My question is, how does your idea that Jonah not dying, make him a Christ type??

Since, if Jonah didn't die  as you have pointed out for no one, the sign wasn't just about a fish swallowing Jonah, it is about the will of God being brought to pass.

I am afraid you are simply echoing words you have read in some comentary, or someones opinions written in a book.

What does a Christ type mean to you..??


Petro

A type of Christ is someone who, through a behavior, or perhaps a prophecy, is used to resemble someone they are not. If you look at Jonah's poem, there's no way you can read this carefully without seeing the prophecy. And the Matthew verse I gave confirms what should already be clear. God isn't required to make someone die to resemble Christ. If you read it, the prophecy is clear. In the same way baptism resembles our death with Christ, so Jonah's time in the whale, under water, identifies with the death of Christ. And the purpose is to testify to the Christ so that when future generations see the similarities, they will know God predicted it, and it will also identify the true Christ, the only one qualified to die for sins. It is a sign for our understanding, and faith.

I did explain Isaac a few posts back, and his part in identifying Christ.

No, I'm not echoing any commentary or text other than scripture, not that faithful commentaries are written for no reason. In fact, that 's the reason we debate, right? To learn from each other. To take a Berean spirit together as fellow Christians.  

Just as importantly, there are unbelievers here, looking for evidence of Christ's presence in our hearts. Let's skip the insults from now on.  ;)

Blessings and peace to you.

whitehorsed,

You can reject the fact that Jonah died, and was resurrected
by the Spirit of God, to preach the Gosple of repentance to that generation at nineveh, if you insist.

The fact is, that generation, will sit in Judgement with Jonah, on the generation Jesus spoke these words to at Mat 12.


This is a cut and pasted explantion from the "christ types" page of your commentary.

There is some truth to it, water Baptism, does resemble the death and resurrection of Christ, and one could stretch this idea and make it fit, Jonah's time in the belly of the fish.

But let's be honest, you probably never thought about this great truth (that Jonah died and was resurrected ), and it is understandable why you would reject it, since it would need you to accomodate it into your gosple, but to reject the truth of this matter outright doesn't do your theory justice.

Physically, it is impossible for man to survive in the belly of a fish (any fish) for any length of time, let alone three days and nights, since there are certain requirements for flesh to survive in such and evironment, so the answer would still rest in the fact that God, sustained Jonah's life for the duration and it was by his Spirit the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the grave that brought Jonah up and out of the deep, I think this is where your thinking is clouded, and woukld rather deny physical truths, in favor of your theory.

Either way, it doesn't matter to me., if you accept it or not, it is clear Jonah, had an experience, no man could live thru, and it was by the power of God, he was able to accomplish what he had refused to do, in the begining;  furthermore, God prepared the hearts of the people to accept the preaching of Jonah.

The sign of Jonah spending three days and three nights in the belly of the fish, must have had a signifcance to both the ninevehites and the Jews, whom Jesus spoke to at Mat 12.

And it wasn't just that Jonah was a christ like character, since they didn't believe in the Christ.


Blessings

Petro

Jesus,

Petro, the truth is, there is absolutely no scriptural basis for the idea that he died. Your responses seem mostly pointed at me-you think it's a new idea for me, that I've been reading commentaries-which isn't such a bad idea, by the way, as long as it's faithful. I'd recommend Matthew Henry & Matthew Poole for starters. Anyway, these are what are called cosmetic arguments-they don't have anything to do with scriptural proof that Jonah died. Attacking the person you're talking to isn't going to provide this proof-it only detracts from the holiness that our discussions and learning are supposed to be fostering.

You made a comment that the baptism illustration was stretching something, but in order for this argument to be credible, you have to demonstrate exactly how, which will be difficult since there is no scriptural basis for the position being argued. In fact, baptism is a point for point illustration. We are talking about identifying with Christ and you made an argument that one cannot identify with Christ without dying. In fact you went so far as to say that for Jonah not to die, it would take actually something away from the gospel, which has nothing to do with Jonah at all, but Jesus Christ.

How do you know someone cannot survive in the belly of a whale? Because a lot of skeptics forked off their unbelieving speculations as scientific fact? The source I was telling you about was from an actual newspaper. I have to dig through a lot of material to find it, but find it I will, so just be patient. But more importantly, you can only speculate this. Not to mention you're dealing with a God who raises the dead, and happens to be merciful. "Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints." He doesn't order his servants into their own deaths unless it is absolutely necessary. But as I said, there is a reliable source that proves it does happen sometimes. The guy is reported to have emerged with bleached skin and no eyebrows, but he did survive. Again, negatives are very hard to prove.

Just out of curiosity, where did you get the idea that Jonah died in the whale?

Blessings to you.

I don't think Christ's assertion that Jonah's staying 3 days and 3 nights in the belly of a whale raises Jonah to the level of Christ. I think Christ was simply saying that what seems impossible is possible with God.

Jonah was in the belly of a great fish that God provided. That does not necessarily mean it was a whale. In fact, a whale is a mammal and not a fish.  I agree with you whitehorse in that there is no Scriptural basis that Jonah was dead and resurrected. He was buried in the belly of a great fish in the depths of the seas for 3 days and nights and miraculously lived through it to preach repentance to Ninevah.

whitehorse,

I posted Jonahs own words, for your reading , both translated from the Greek- English, and Hebrew-English.

Sadly, the KJV, does not give the same flavor to this passage in chapter 2 of Jonah, the NIV to their credit, matches more closely the Hebrew-English translation at verse 2, 7.

Verse 8,  in the KJV nor thr NIV, match the Hebrew-English Interlinear, therefore "when my life was ebbing away."  

 Jonahs own words, at verse 2, , he speaks of the "belly of Sheol", in the Hebrew means "grave", there are other poetic usage, which could be inserted using this word, and it could give the word "grave" another meaning, such as in the Psalms, David uses this same language at Psa 30:3, a prayer of thanksgiving, for his near death experience, it has a poetic tone to it, since obviously David did not die.

However Jonah's experience found him in dire straights, and I doubt he was thinking of poetry to tell of it.  

Besides the story is not a parable since Jesus, uses his experiences of  being in the belly of this fish three days and nights (and refers to him as a historical character, at Mat 12) reffering to His own  death and burial for three days and nights in the belly of the earth,

He was'nt reffering to laying in the tomb semi conscious waiting till the third day (as you picture Jonah), so He could show himself,  it is written "he gave up the ghost." and, "he arose on the third day".

Notice verses 7, " You brought my life up from the pit" (Hebrew), the Greek uses the word sheol,  verse 8  "speak of crying out to God, when his life was ebbing away. He other versions of scripture do not show this words.

By the way, seeing this follows, believing the word of God, (if you can't see it, it may be you don't believe that Jonah was a real man, this is why you lump him in with mythical stories) if one doesn't see this great truth, not just that Jonah, was a Christ type, but that He perfectly exemplified, the Christ, more perfectly.

Jonahs prayer of thanksgiving was for his life being restored to him, by the Almighty, notice it (his prayer) dealt with his situation and not with the cause, in his crying out to God he vowed obedience to God, if God delivered him, from the pit or grave whatever you prefer.

He knew he was deserving of death, for being disobedient.  

And he also knew God forgives repent sinners..

Here, let me give it to you;

Jonah 3
 10  And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not.
4:1  But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was very angry.
2  And he prayed unto the LORD, and said, I pray thee, O LORD, was not this my saying, when I was yet in my country? Therefore I fled before unto Tarshish: for I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest thee of the evil.

In this point, Jonah wasn't all that christ like after all, since he really hated the ninevehites, since he preffered God to have destroyed the city and its inhabitants, rather than preach Gods word to them.

As for the story  of a man, being swallowed by a whale, it has criculated for centuries, when and if you find the story, I garauntee you, that man was not in the belly of the whale for three days and nights and, you don't have to dig it up for me, because it still wouldn't prove anything to support the theory that Jonah was just simply a christ like character, who didn't die..

Petro

I never said or implied anything of the sort. How could he be a type if he were fictional? How could he prophecy? I called it prophecy, not a parable. This is no way to win an argument, but is borderline violation of the ninth commandment.

Yes, I read the verses carefully, but there is nothing that said he died. His life certainly was ebbing away, and God brought the whale to the surface again. God made the prophecy clear. But you still haven't addressed the issues of baptism, David's prophecy having not been crucified, or Isaac. These are all examples where references are made to Christ's death, without the person dying who in some way identifies with or prophecies this death. Instead of actually killing His servants, the Lord chose to symbolize Christ's death through immersing or even sprinkling water, writing prophetic statements about crucifixion without the author himself being crucified, and raising a knife above the human on the altar without actually slaying him. And what did Abraham say in his faith, to this son of promise?

 Abraham said, My son, God will provide Himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together. Genesis 22:8

Even so, having said this, he raised the knife above his son. And through this act of obedience he received another promise from God, which made him the father of all true Israel. What do you suppose the significance of this is?

Also, what is so special about Jonah that he somehow fails in his prophecy by not dying? There is no statement that he did, but rather his poem glorified God for sparing him. After all he is a prophet, not the Christ.

As for the poem, it isn't a matter of what he felt like doing, as we learn from the book overall, that his aversion to God's command led to this unwitting prophecy. He wrote the poem as prophetic, messianic scripture. Not for personal entertainment.

Blessings to you.
Whitehorse

Whitehorse,

You may be of them, that explain hard to understand scriptural passages in metephorical terms, which do point out truth, but leave out the most glaring and perhaps the central teaching of truths and, that is,  that;

Jesus died and arose from the grave three days after his death having visited and preached to the spirits in prison(Sheol), the belly of the earth; Jonah died and from the belly of the great fish, prayed out to God, and praised Him, for delivering him, from "sheol," the "pit."

I suppose, you can use these metaphorical figures of speech to preach the Gosple to unbelievers but it leaves little to be desired.

Unbelievers do not believe Jesus really, actually died, how often we hear of people saying;  

"Prove to me, Jesus died and rose from the grave and I will believe".

In the use of this passage of scripture,  it is clear, you would then agree with those of the "wicked and adulterous generation"(scribes, Pharisee's, Sadduces) whom Jesus spoke to, "that sought a sign", from  Him, and the present day scoffers, who deny the ressurection, which consist of "liberal christians, aethists, muslims, new agers",  and all others who deny that Jesus was ever resurrected.

Christians should believe what the Spirit teaches, not, what an evil and adulterous generation teaches.

As I said before, you don't have to believe, what I,  have shared with you to be the truth, since I recognize that in order to see scriptural teaching one must believe the Word of God, firstly..

What is obscure to you, is plainly taught and written in the Words of Jonah's confession. And prayer of thanksgiving.

To claim these words where Jonah, speaks of the Pit, Sheol, or of his Life Ebbing away are poetic and have no significance, is to reduce the testimony of Jesus to a parable, and  unfortunately, to advance this teaching is to detract from the truth of Gods Word.

Jonah, may be seen as a "Christ type", but one can plainly see, he is an "Israel (the nation) type" also, he was selfish (caring nothing for the spiritual well being of others), disobedient, stubborn, self willed and willing to die rather than obey God, in short he was unrighteous, inspite of the fact he perfectly understood and knew the nature of God.

His willingness to disobey God  shows  that this may not have been the first time he had gotten away with open rebellion of disobedience, since he later confesses,  

" I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest thee of the evil." (Jonah 4:2),

 and, obviously God had not punished Him, and he knew God loves repent sinners, and will not reject their confessions of a true contrite heart, even while in their deathbeds, this is why he remembered to confess, but have you wondered why it took him three days and nights??

 (no doubt he thought of every way he might  redeem himself without confessing his sin)

And his attitude never changed after God, brought him up from the "pit", he only did what he vowed to do,  note;

Jonah 2
7  ............ I will pay that that I have vowed.

This is a passage you could never use to speak to, in evangelizing any Muslim, because, they use this passage of scripture to prove Jesus never died, consider;

 Http://www.letusreason.org/Islam4.htm

"Muslim Claim- the sign of Jonas: Matthew 12:38-30 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. It is not that he entered the whale's belly dead and came out of it alive; his sign was that he entered the whale's belly alive, remained there alive, and came out of there alive."

I guess, you agree with the muslim teaching.......

Most modern scholars, today teach, that  nothing super natural occurred while Jonah was in the belly of the great fish, three days and nights (they will contradict themselves by claiming it was a miracle that Jonah lived thru this experience) but this only shows their confusion in what the truth of the matter really is,  (this is why, you claim) that Jonah, did not die, and they do so, because they superficially consider the book of Jonah, in the light of Mat 12:39-41.

I say that Jesus would have never used the sign of Jonah, had Jonah not died and been brought back to life by that same Spirit, that raised Him from the grave; since this is the central sign given to an unbelieving dieing world.

Here is proof, God can use the ungodly to preach the word, and it is not the preacher which accomplishes the purposes of God, but the Word itself.  Jonah was a Prophet.

There is nothing that tells us whether he ever repented and was converted, while expereincing similarities to the death and resurrection of Christ, just because Jesus uses his expereince as a sign to unbelievers, there is no evidcence he was right with God, what is clear  is that he did not care for the lives of men, he rather looked for their eternal judgement and it exceedingly upset him and made him angry, that God forgave the city of  sixscore thousand persons.

He was raised by the Spirit of God, in the belly of the great fish, but no sign of being indwelt by  that same spirit.

Rom 8
 11 But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.

Please note that the sign of Jonah, given by Jesus was to an evil and adulterous generation, seeking signs, and what did these conclude from the sign given?

That Jesus did  not arise from the dead.

What is the conclusion of the wicked and adulterous generation of today?

That Jesus did  not arise from the dead.,

It never happened many claim, isn't this true??

Yet the scriptures tell us plainly He arose from the grave on the third day, just as he said.

Remove the resurrection from the gosple and you have nothing, but an allegory, parable, a metophor, and the gosple can be twisted this way.

You use the word, whale to refer to the [great fish in story of Jonah, and I understand exactly why you do, since you do not believe the account, you reduce this story wich Jesus confirms as a true account of a man, to the level of myth or allegory, while pointing out, to the account of a man, who survived being swallowed by a whale in our genereation.

Accounting, that Jonah by his own strength survived the experience..

While at the same time pointing out, proudly, what a christ type and like,  this vial sinner was, as thou this is all there is to the Lord's reference of Jonah's experience.

Blessings,   Salvation is of the LORD.

Petro

Petro, many of your arguments do not stand up.
You say that it is physically impossible for Jonah to have been able to live 3 days in a fish. Well, it is also physically impossible for Daniel to have survived the fire in the oven he was thrown into, but he did. For with God, all things are possible.
I have always been of the mind, 'God said it, I believe it, that settles it'. Since nowhere does scripture say that Jonah died,
then I have to believe that, like Daniel, God preserved him somehow.
Love in Christ. Roy.

Bro Royo,

You compare apples and oranges.

In the account of Daniel 3, at; the passage of scripture you refer to;

23  And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace.
24  Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonied, and rose up in haste, and spake, and said unto his counsellors, Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered and said unto the king, True, O king.
25  He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.
26  Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the burning fiery furnace, and spake, and said, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, ye servants of the most high God, come forth, and come hither. Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, came forth of the midst of the fire.
27  And the princes, governors, and captains, and the king's counsellors, being gathered together, saw these men, upon whose bodies the fire had no power, nor was an hair of their head singed, neither were their coats changed, nor the smell of fire had passed on them.
28  Then Nebuchadnezzar spake, and said, Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who hath sent his angel, and delivered his servants that trusted in him, and have changed the king's word, and yielded their bodies, that they might not serve nor worship any god, except their own God.


It is obvious that had not the hand of the Almighty, intervened these men, would have died. At least you concede this fact.

Re read the passage, to deny this is true, is to deny men are  not subject to the physical laws of the universe.

In this case, nothing is said of the men praying, or crying out to God, in their distress, in fact the passage doesn't even point out they were distressed as Jonahs was, after three days and nights in the belly of the great fish.

Which makes my point, in the case of Jonah, God intervened by raising him from the pit (sheol) he was being judged by God, these men in Daniel, were judged by King Nebuchadnezzars law, and it is clear they didn't fear him who was able to kill the body but not the soul, on the other hand, note Jonah's prayer .

Jonah 2
6  ......you brought my life up from the pit..
7  ......when my life was ebbing away......

As I stated before, Jesus in referring to Jonahs experience of being in the belly of the great fish three days and nights as being the sign to a wicked and depraved generation of His own death burial and resurrection, he didn't give this sign to believers, but to unbelievers, to force them to decide and confess what they believed in their heart, and  reject; His ressurection.


Believers received a different sign which is revealed by the Spirit, and the sign, wasn't to present Jonah as a Christ type figure  to them.

I encourage you to read Mathew 27, at;

62  Now the next day, that followed the day of the preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees came together unto Pilate,
63  Saying, Sir, we remember that that deceiver said, while he was yet alive, After three days I will rise again.
64  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.
65  Pilate said unto them, Ye have a watch: go your way, make it as sure as ye can.
66  So they went, and made the sepulchre sure, sealing the stone, and setting a watch.
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.
2  And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it.
3  His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow:
4  And for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men.
5  And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified.
6  He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.
7  And go quickly, and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead; and, behold, he goeth before you into Galilee; there shall ye see him: lo, I have told you.
8  And they departed quickly from the sepulchre with fear and great joy; and did run to bring his disciples word.
9  And as they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, All hail. And they came and held him by the feet, and worshipped him.
10  Then said Jesus unto them, Be not afraid: go tell my brethren that they go into Galilee, and there shall they see me.
11  Now when they were going, behold, some of the watch came into the city, and showed unto the chief priests all the things that were done.
12  And when they were assembled with the elders, and had taken counsel, they gave large money unto the soldiers,
13  Saying, Say ye, His disciples came by night, and stole him away while we slept.
14  And if this come to the governor's ears, we will persuade him, and secure you.
15  So they took the money, and did as they were taught: and this saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this day.

These same religious rulers (Pharisees, Sadducess and Scribes) whom sought a sign from heaven from Jesus, were the same ones who approached Pilate to set a watch at the tomb of Jesus.

Note that they paid a great sum of money to the sodiers that they might not tell the truth of verse 6 above, and finally note that verse 15, states "this saying is commonly reported among the Jews, even to this day.

What was the conclusion of the evil and adulterous generation who did not believe??

The Jesus, never arose from the dead.

The book of Jonah is read to this very day during one of the  7 Mosaic High Feast Days "Yom Kippor".

As I said to whitehorse, You don't have to believe what the scriptures teach, concerning Jonah, and one can only see this truth that Jonah died, if one is first willing to believe, that the central piece of the sign of Jonah wasn't for the purpose of pointing out Jonah was a typed of Christ, but because he died and was resurrected by God the Holy Spirit.

To deny this and believe he is a type of christ is silly, since Jonah exhibited more non-Christ type attributes, than he did Christ-type,

In fact there is nothing you can point out in his life depicted in these 4 chapters, which you can attribute to his own willingness to do the will of God.

If you can point to one thing he did, other than he went and did, what he vowed to God in the belly of the fish, after God raised him up??  

Please post it for us.

No doubt his prayer went something like this;   O God, if you let me live thru this I will, go and preach at nineveh.  

Imagine that, trying to work a deal with God.

This guy was so selfish, he wouldn't even throw himself into the ocean to save the lives of the sailors, note what he said to them;

Jonah 1
11  Then said they unto him, What shall we do unto thee, that the sea may be calm unto us? for the sea wrought, and was tempestuous.
12  And he said unto them, Take me up, and cast me forth into the sea; so shall the sea be calm unto you: for I know that for my sake this great tempest is upon you.

On the other hand, Jesus did all the will of God, even his willingness to die on the cross in perfect obedience to the Father.

I have no idea how you can use the life of this man, to teach his christ-type attributes, in a positive way, to advance the Gosple of our Lord.

Personally, I would be embarassed to bring this matter up, if I believed he never died and the Lord raised him up, it is the goodness and grace of God that matters, not anything Jonah did, said, or shared.

He is a perfect example of the kind of man, God is willing to save, and its a wonder what he sees in us.

Blessings,

Petro

Oops. I meant to say the 3 men in the book of Daniel.
Be that as it may, it seems you are making a moutain out of a molehill. Jesus died, was in paradise 3 days, and rose from the dead. Weather any of us agree about Jonah or not does not effect that truth. God could have preserved him if He so chose to, so your point is mute. The truth of the death and resurrection of Jesus is what really matters. In that there is no dispute. At least among those who believe the Word of God. For any who do not accept the Word of God, that can only be dealt with by the Holy Spirit of God Himself.
Off to bed. night all. Roy.

royo,

There are christians in liberal circles, that do not believe in the virign birth, nor his death and ressurection, perhaps this is news to you.

And if it isn't, perhaps it doesn't affect you, that is to say, like other christians, you would say, oh well, everyone must believe whatever they want to believe, as long as they believe something, that is what matters.

This attitude is exactly the reason, why schisms and error have been allowed to creep into the church and it teachings.

Every passage of scripture is given by inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and as you have read before, perhaps;

"Man does not live by bread alone, but every word that proceedeth from the mouth of God."

This little story of the Prophet Jonah, may be a nothing but a   mole hill , and not worth knowing whether he died and was raised by God to you, but to the man of God, who strives to share the truth of Gods Word with a dying world, understanding this little fact will make a world of difference in how he effective he does so.

Jesus spoke of Jonah, perhaps it wouldn't be as important to know what He meant,  by this comparison of Jonahs experience and His own, if He hadn't

I frankly, can't see what value it is to know that Jonah was a type of Christ or a man of God, when he obviously didn't care about peoples souls, but if a sinner like this died and was resurrected by Gods grace, then it changes the picture completely, and can be used to prove Jesus was speaking of His own death and resurrection.

Believing Jonah was a type of Christ, must edify you and others in a way, which you can evangelize others with.

Unbelievers do not believe Jesus died and arose, how does your viewpoint and ability to share Jonah was a type of christ, in evangelization advance the cause of the Gosple??


Blesings,

Petro

Actually, it doesnt matter whether Jonah died inside the whale or did not. The phrase "going down to sheol" was seen as a poetic metaphor for literally being buried at sea. This fishs' belly would be his literal grave unless God rescued him. God could have preserved Jonah alive, or could have let Jonah die and then be brought back to life in that fish.  

 In Matthew 12:40-41, Jesus talks about the sign of Jonah, comparing Jonah's three days and three nights in the belly of the fish to the time he would be in the earth. Just as with John the Baptist, one much greater than Jonah is Jesus.

No, I am not one who feels that it is O.K. to believe what you want, as long as you believe something. I know the pope has told Moslems it is O.K. to be a Moslem, as long as they are good Moslems. That is just another example of the religion of man, which man created, not God. Christians make up the body of Christ, which is the church. Religions made by man are NOT the church, though many in those religions are born again Christians, and thus a part of the body of Christ. In reference to this religion thing, Paul said, "And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ.
I fed you with milk and not with solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able; for you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men? For when one says, "I am of Paul," and another, "I am of Apollos," are you not carnal?" [1 Cor. 3.1-4].
Today people say, "I am a Baptist", and "I am a Lutheran", etc. Paul calls that "carnal", which I refered to as the religions man created.
As for those who do not believe in the virgin birth, etc., I cannot reach out to every soul in the world to try to set them straight about the truth. I can only touch those who the Lord brings into my sphere of influence. And then, only as He guides me in this. For one will not hear the truth until God has touched them and made them ready to hear it. Then He guides one of His servants to teach that soul the truth.
So no, it is not news to me. But it also only becomes my responsibility as the Lord directs me. The Word tells us that there will be many who will follow false teachings and believe the lies they speak. Though He has called me to 'teach and clarify truth', I am limited as to who I can do this with. That is why there is more than one Christian in the world. I am obedient to my calling, but only one of many He has called.
I cannot worry about those who CHOOSE to belive lies because they either don't truly seek God for themself, or are not willing to give up the ways of the world, and so choose lies because it allows them to keep being worldly. I pray for them, but can only help those who truly want the truth, and whom God guides to me to by His Holy Spirit.
As for Jonah; I have stated that I believe God could have preserved him if He wanted to; and since scripture does not precisely say that Jonah died, then I, in my personal opinion, believe that he did not truly die. What others choose to believe about Jonah is between them and God. I have given my belief. I can do no more.
In love in Christ, Roy.

royo,

Thanks for your clarification, I can accept that you acknowledge that your own understanding of this passage of scripture is based on your personal opinion.

As I stated to you previously, what is not clear to you is clear to me.

I was actually hoping someone would post some Christ type  qualities they could put there finger on concerning this man Jonah, that I might consider to see where my error is.

As for the rest of your post I agree perfectly with what you have stated, no disagreement there.

As I said before, I see no value in teaching Jonah was na type of Christ, unlessm there is something  positive one can say about Jonahs character.


God Bless your studies of the Word..

suzie,

You said;


My point concerning "metaphors", is that, they can mean anything to the one interpreting the passage, it is like art, it means different things to different people, looking at the work.

I am afraid it is an easy way to explain hard passage of scripture away, in a cute little poetic way.

There is more to it than this.

Can you point out any Christ-type attributes Jonah possessed??

Please don't mention the fact he went an preached at nineveh, since it is clear he negotiated this very thing in exchange for his life.

Blessings,

Petro

Jonah was called upon by God to preach to the wicked city of Nineveh. Instead of going to Nineveh, Jonah fled by boat in the other direction. However, God caused a large storm to stop him in his tracks. When the other sailors found out it was Jonah’s fault for the storm they reluctantly threw Jonah overboard. God arranged for a large fish to save Jonah by swallowing him. Jonah remained in the belly of the fish for three days. Then God caused the fish to spit Jonah out on to dry ground. God again told Jonah to go to Nineveh. This time Jonah went and preached in the streets of Nineveh. The people of Nineveh repented and Jonah was angry. The story ends with God sharing with Jonah why he had compassion on Nineveh. Check out the story of Jonah in the Bible.
===================================
Turn up your sound and go here:

Jonah
http://www.amvcentral.com/jonah/

In the Image of Christ
Colossians 3:8-11

“The Power of God?”

        “For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect. For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God. For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. Where [is] the wise? where [is] the scribe? where [is] the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom: But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumbling block, and unto the Greeks foolishness; But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God."  1Cor.1:17-24

                Nowadays it is common to hear people talk about the power of God. Many people testify of how the power of God has healed them of some sickness or blessed them with financial wealth, or caused them to speak in tongues. Today many so-called faith healers boldly proclaim that they have been anointed with power from on high. They display so-called healings and other signs and (lying) wonders to make people believe they’ve been anointed by God’s mighty power. Many of them claim that Jesus manifests Himself bodily in their presence and instructs them of His will. It is amazing the stunts that these charlatans come up with to deceive people into believing that they are anointed with the power of God. In fact, like showmen or entertainers, they keep trying to outdo each other in their rise to fame and power. One man blows his breath at people and they fall over backwards as if knocked out by some power or force. They call this stunt being slain in the Spirit, which by the way, is something you never see in the Scriptures. Is this man really anointed with the power of God, or does he just have a case of really bad breath? Another man claims it was a 900-foot tall Jesus that spoke with him, apparently the manifestation of a normal size Jesus was too common and unspectacular. It doesn’t take long nowadays for a new signs and wonders fad to come along and take the spotlight and center stage, and as time goes on they are getting stranger and stranger.

        Dear friends, the power of God is not a circus sideshow as it is so commonly portrayed today. It is not signs and wonders as many of today’s swindlers want you to believe. The true power of God is displayed in the preaching of the cross and seeing lost souls saved from the wrath of God and inheriting eternal life, as the above texts points out. I’m amazed when I watch some of the signs and wonders performers today; their focus is on health, wealth and the signs and wonders that they claim God does through them, and yet you hardly ever see them focus on the gospel. They have huge audiences coming to them seeking a sign, or healing, or to watch them perform their tricks. It has become a form of “Christian entertainment.” Jesus Himself warned against such things in the book of Matthew:

        “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”    (Matt. 12:38-40).

        Jesus said it was an evil and adulterous generation, not a righteous and godly one that sought after signs. What’s so amazing in this verse is that the only sign that Jesus was going to give them was the sign of Jonas who was in the belly of a great fish for three days and nights, which was a figure of the Lord’s burial in the heart of the earth. Jesus was pointing them to His sacrificial death, burial and resurrection by this figure. The only sign Jesus was going to give them was the gospel. Our passage from 1 Cor. 1 above says that the Jews require a sign and that the cross was a stumbling block for them. How sad it is that these people missed out on the gospel that could save their souls because their focus was on signs and wonders instead of Jesus Christ and the cross.

        Those who are seeking after signs thinking that the signs are the power of God are deceiving themselves. The Bible warns about a man that will deceive most of the world by his power, signs and lying wonders, in 2 Thessalonians chapter 2:

        “And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: [Even him], whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved”    (2 Thess. 2:8-10).

        This man will be the antichrist, and he will use signs and wonders to deceive the people of the world. Those who think that signs and wonders are the way God manifest His power will easily be deceived by the antichrist who is possessed by Satan himself. In fact, the antichrist will proclaim himself to be God, and most of the world will worship him as such. It’s no wonder then that Jesus said it was an evil and adulterous generation that sought after a sign.

        Remember, the true display of God’s power is the preaching of the gospel which has the power to save those who believe. The apostle Paul knew the true power of God and made it clear in 1 Cor. 1:17-24. He wrote the same thing to the Romans:

        “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek”    (Rom. 1:16).

        Dear friend, the only way to experience the true power of God in your life is by repenting of your sins and believing the gospel. Even if these so-called faith healers could make you healthy and wealthy someday, you are still going to die and meet your Creator, who will judge you (Heb. 9:27).  If you have repented of your old sinful ways of life and believed the preaching of the cross of Jesus, you will inherit eternal life. If the cross is a stumbling block to you and your life has never been transformed by the saving power of the cross of Jesus Christ, you will be damned and experience the second death, which is to be thrown into the lake of fire, where there will be wailing and gnashing of teeth for all eternity (Rev. 20:11-15).  Allow me to give you some sound advice, call on the Name of the Lord Jesus while there’s still time to be saved (Rom. 10:9-13). Don’t put it off another day, by then it might be to late (2 Cor. 6:2).

Visit our web site for more articles and information at  http://nlbchapel.org

Pilgrim

A4C,

I appreciate your posting a site for the story of Jonah, however, you have added words to the biblical account of Jonah, the words to save Jonah, are simply not in scripture.

Note;

Jonah 2
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.

Unfortunately the use of metaphors, this is the reason why many christians, get derailed when reading scripture.

Now Noah was in the arch, and I suppose someone could make the argument he and his family were in the belly of the arch, but in Noah's case the arch was a type of christ, in Jonah's clearly, the fish was not.

Confusion reigns when men add words to Gods word, and I say people are already confused enough, there is no reason to confuse them, any more than they are already.

Thanks for your input, but the fish did not save Jonah,it swallowed him, and besides Jonah clearly testifies;

Salvation is of the LORD (Jonah 2:9)


Blessings,
Petro

Usually on wednesday and saturday mornings I like to go (with members of by church) and seek people to share the gospel with, and good place to do it is in the center streets of the  city where I live, and sometimes at the park.

So yesterday, saturday morn, at the park we set a table with tracks and a banner of a picture of the towers on 911 (which always draws people) standing by a little table that we use.

And it wasn't long before a middle aged jewish fellow came by in a bike, claiming to be jewish and a christian, stopped to engage us in conversation, turned out he was a bible student, who had attended several schools of theology and some seminary, and had many Catholic friends which according to him, always argued with him, over the scriptures and the catholic teachings.

While speaking with him, he stated he did not believe in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus, when I asked him, how this could be since he had stated as many do,

"I only believe what the bible teaches!"

And I shared with him, the prohecies concerning the Messiah,

He was to be prohet like unto Moses Deut 18:15,18-19 and the NT fulfilment Jhn 7:14-17.

Messiah was to be born of a virgin Isa 7:14 and the NT fulfillment Mat 1:18-25.

That the Messiah was to be rejected by His own people Isa 53:1-3, and its NT fulfillment  Jhn 1:11.

Messiah wa sto be crucified Psa 22:14,16-17 and the Nt fulfillment Mat 27:31

And that Messsiah would be in dead the belly of the earth three days and nights , just as Jonah was in the belly of the great fish three days and three nights, and arise from death on that third day.  Psa 16:10 , Mk 12:40  and Nt fulfillment of the prophecy Lk 24:1-6.

And amazingly he said Jesus never died, therefore never really was ressurected, he stated that Jesus was the second adam, and that if one understood the mystery of the first adam, one would really understand the mystery of the what the bible taught in metaphorical terms concerning the death burial and ressurection of Jesus, so I asked him, where one could find the mystery even alluded to.

So he pointed to the first Adam being put to sleep, giving way for the creation of Eve.

Likewise he said Jesus the second Adam, was put to sleep that the church which is to be made up of jew and gentile could be born or created by God.

I did ask him if he thought Jonah died, his answer was NO that God simply put Jonah to sleep, and this was the reason why Jesus used the story of Jonah to His own sleep while in the belly of the earth.

I asked him a few other questions, which didn't lead anywhere, except to reveal how confused this guy really was.

I have to admit that while I was talking with this fellow, I remembered this thread, and thought I would share when I got the chance.

Anyhow, this is an example of what I had previously shared herein, there are professing christians who do not believe in the death of Jesus, and use not only the story of Jonah to point this out but also the first Adam's sleep while God took the rib out of his side to create Eve, who is a metaphor for the church.

Now you know the rest of the story.

I am still wondering, is there anyone out there that can point to one, just one point of a christ like or type attribute Jonah possessed??


Anybody..............?


Blessings,

Petro