The Jonah Sign – Church of God

(Copyright 2023) by Dwight Fleming (Oroville, California)
The scribes and Pharisees wanted to see a sign from Jesus. This was His reply to them: “A wicked and adulterous generation demands a sign, but none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth” (See Matthrew 12:38-40). Did Jesus fulfill that sign? Traditionally, it is believed that Jesus died and was buried on a Friday afternoon, then rose from the dead early Sunday morning before sunrise. How do you get “three days and three nights” during that timeframe? You don’t. An alternate theory says that Jesus died and was buried on a Wednesday afternoon and then rose from the dead 72 hours later on a Saturday afternoon before sunset. This 72-hour theory proposes that the resurrection took place on the Sabbath rather than on the first day of the week as millions believe. Please watch the short video linked below which explains the timeline of the 72-hour theory and attempts to show how Jesus fulfilled the Sign of Jonah by being in the tomb for “three days and three nights.” There is a problem with this 72-hour theory which needs to be addressed. You probably won’t notice the problem by watching the video. Note: The English word “day” can have various meanings. This may be true in other languages. It can mean the daylight portion of a calendar day as well as a calendar day of the month or week. See Genesis 1:3-5. While a calendar day may start at sunset, there is still daylight for a period of time after sunset. Be aware of the various meanings that are intended by the context of scripture. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EmtyYqq11Qc 72-Hour Theory ———————————————————————————————————- See Dwight Fleming’s other articles at: Fleming, Dwight – Church of God, Bismarck (church-of-god-bismarck.org) ———————————————————————————————————-

The scribes and Pharisees wanted to see a sign from Jesus. This was His reply to them:

“A wicked and adulterous generation demands a sign, but none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth” (See Matthrew 12:38-40).

Did Jesus fulfill that sign? Traditionally, it is believed that Jesus died and was buried on a Friday afternoon, then rose from the dead early Sunday morning before sunrise. How do you get “three days and three nights” during that timeframe? You don’t.

An alternate theory says that Jesus died and was buried on a Wednesday afternoon and then rose from the dead 72 hours later on a Saturday afternoon before sunset. This 72-hour theory proposes that the resurrection took place on the Sabbath rather than on the first day of the week as millions believe.

Please watch the short video linked below which explains the timeline of the 72-hour theory and attempts to show how Jesus fulfilled the Sign of Jonah by being in the tomb for “three days and three nights.”

There is a problem with this 72-hour theory which needs to be addressed. You probably won’t notice the problem by watching the video.

Note: The English word “day” can have various meanings. This may be true in other languages. It can mean the daylight portion of a calendar day as well as a calendar day of the month or week. See Genesis 1:3-5. While a calendar day may start at sunset, there is still daylight for a period of time after sunset. Be aware of the various meanings that are intended by the context of scripture.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EmtyYqq11Qc 72-Hour Theory

———————————————————————————————————-
See Dwight Fleming’s other articles at:
Fleming, Dwight – Church of God, Bismarck (church-of-god-bismarck.org)
———————————————————————————————————-

Iron Sharpening Iron In regard to: The Jonah Sign Article by Dwight Fleming Comments by Laura Lee (Bismarck, North Dakota)
I see no problem with the 72-hour theory as that is how we get 3 days and 3 nights. Joh 11:9 Jesus answered, Are there not twelve hours in the day? If any man walk in the day, he stumbleth not, because he seeth the light of this world. The time period between sunset and actual darkness is considered to be part of the night. In Jewish law they had what is called a Relative hour. See the following web page: Relative hour – Wikipedia How this works is that there are twelve hours in a day and twelve hours in a night. The entire day is 24 hours long and that part does not change. What changes is how the day and night are figured. The daylight portion of a day starts at dawn when the sun comes up and it ends when the sun goes down. The night portion starts when the sun goes down and ends when it rises at dawn. The sun rising and setting is what determines a day or night regardless of, if light is seen before the sun rises or after it sets. What makes the day relative is that in different seasons of the year the day is shorter, and the night is longer and at other times of the year the day is longer, and the night is shorter. However, during the Holy Day season in spring and fall the day and night in Israel is divided pretty equal as in 12 hours and 12 hours.

Iron Sharpening Iron
In regard to: The Jonah Sign
Article by Dwight Fleming
Comments by Laura Lee (Bismarck, North Dakota)

I see no problem with the 72-hour theory as that is how we get 3 days and 3 nights.

Joh 11:9 Jesus answered, Are there not twelve hours in the day? If any man walk in the day, he stumbleth not, because he seeth the light of this world.

The time period between sunset and actual darkness is considered to be part of the night. In Jewish law they had what is called a Relative hour. See the following web page: Relative hour – Wikipedia

How this works is that there are twelve hours in a day and twelve hours in a night. The entire day is 24 hours long and that part does not change. What changes is how the day and night are figured. The daylight portion of a day starts at dawn when the sun comes up and it ends when the sun goes down. The night portion starts when the sun goes down and ends when it rises at dawn.

The sun rising and setting is what determines a day or night regardless of, if light is seen before the sun rises or after it sets.

What makes the day relative is that in different seasons of the year the day is shorter, and the night is longer and at other times of the year the day is longer, and the night is shorter. However, during the Holy Day season in spring and fall the day and night in Israel is divided pretty equal as in 12 hours and 12 hours.