The Mind-Blowing Meaning Behind the Sign of Jonah

Is the story of Jonah just an unscientific fairytale for children? And what did Jesus mean when he said that he would fulfill the sign of Jonah? It might not be what you think. Yes, it includes his resurrection but it also includes the turning of pagan nations to worshippers of the God of Israel.
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[@jkm9332]

I love the Book of Jonah. In addition to its theological significance, it's such a great work of literature. Allegory, satire, irony, redemption. So good.

[@johnbreitmeier3268]

And it is liiterature. Jonah does NOT die in the whale. He uses the metaphor of the grave to speak of being swallowed by the whale.

[@litigioussociety4249]

The ending is kind of anticlimactic.

[@jkm9332]

@@litigioussociety4249 Yeah, I think that’s the point. It’s an allegory and satire, so the abrupt ending with no satisfying closure is actually quite perfect in creating tension, unease, and making the point that Jonah (i.e. Israel) has completely missed the merciful part of God’s character.

[@Yosef_Morrison]

Wrong again,@@johnbreitmeier3268 ! Thankfully, salvation is of the Jews. Only anti-Semites try to say Yonah is literature. Us Jews revere Yonah as one of our holy prophets and the book of Yonah with the sacred name of our Creator in it IS Scripture, not a fairytale. Us Jews know from G-d's Word that Yonah DID die in the dag gadol (great fish). Furthermore, this was no ordinary big fish that just happened to be swimming by the moment Yonah was cast into the sea and instantly the sea became calm (another miracle). You need to pay close attention to the Scripture of Yonah or you will miss the fact the YHVH especially prepared a fish that would swallow Yonah. I'm sure there was never a fish so big before and never again. So, all the wannabe scientists who say no such fish or whale that could swallow a human exists can sit down now.

[@Yosef_Morrison]

@@jkm9332 what is wrong with you guys? What more do you want than the report that the reluctant prophet did what G-d ordered him to do and the people of Nineveh were saved from destruction? In Judaism we know that Yonah was one of our prophets whom we record other places in Scripture and we do not consider his death in the whale (and resurrection) as allegory or satire. If you don't like how our G-d and our Messiah operates why don't you just leave us alone.

[@Josh-he7ty]

To me, what’s even more fascinating than the 3 days and 3 nights part is the 40 days until destruction. Nineveh had 40 days until destruction if they didn’t repent. And 40 years after Israel killed their messiah they were destroyed in the siege of Jerusalem in 70 AD.

[@FRN2013]

E x c e l l e n t and _fascinating_ point!

[@Nov_Net]

O_o

[@truncated7644]

Josh, what basis do you have to change 40 days to 14,600+ days?

[@Josh-he7ty]

@@truncated7644 Ezekiel 4:5-6 uses years to symbolize days, as well as Daniel 9:24-27. I’m pretty sure there’s more, but this is just off the top of my head. So it’s hermeneutically valid to see the 40 days until destruction with Jonah symbolizing 40 years until destruction with Jesus

[@truncated7644]

@@Josh-he7ty Even if I grant that, when can it be applied? If the sign of Jonah is 3 days and 3 nights, why wouldn't the prophetic fulfillment of it be three years?

[@SlavicUA]

This is wonderful! You're right, this IS indeed the sign of Jonah. I never realized this until recently. Thank you for this amazing video, and the work you do. God bless you!

[@CaptainHyperverse]

This makes much more sense now. I had no idea Jonah actually died inside! I always thought he lived but he said he cried from Sheol? It would only make sense if he actually went there. That meme rocked me for a while 🤣.

[@AJBernard]

The desire to explain away miracles in order to appease science is entirely misguided. While God certainly CAN use the natural world to accomplish His purposes, He is not restricted to doing so. For the God who created all things, violating the laws of nature is no problem at all. Yes, my friends, Jesus really DID turn water into wine. He really DID multiply loaves and fishes to feed 5000 people with one boy's lunch AND take up 12 basketfuls of leftovers when it was done. God is greater than our feeble understandings.

[@hiddenrambo328]

Miracle proof: Natural law says 1+1=2 True Except with Life 1+1=3 man woman child. Life is a miracle! Super means Above or Beyond, Natural means nature = Supernatural things cannot occur naturally or they would be natural and not supernatural thus supernatural things require a supernatural source. Life is supernatural life requires a supernatural source aka God! I like this it's simple still occurs today and everyone can relate to it. It's also hard to argue against.

[@vedinthorn]

That may be true, but in this case the miracle wasn't that Jonah survived, but that he was raised back to life.

[@AJBernard]

@@vedinthorn I have been teaching that Jonah died in the fish for years. Also, I'd like to point out that it was a "great fish," not necessarily a whale, so the atheist's scientific arguments are straw man at best.

[@vedinthorn]

@@AJBernard I'm not sure the great fish/whale argument matters much. The Bible uses classifications of animals that predate modern scientific categories. Hence why bats are called birds, because bird was a word that meant flying thing that wasn't a bug. There's a lot more ambiguity in ancient languages for animals than we have now by a long shot.

[@AJBernard]

@@vedinthorn Right... that's what I mean. The atheist argument examines two kinds of whales, then says "It couldn't be either of these, so it didn't happen." straw-manning. the Bible doesn't give the exact categorization of the great fish.

[@passthebaton7916]

Great observation on the meaning of the word "arise".! This is often overlooked.

[@Pseudo-Jonathan]

Atheists who leave Christianity often still retain the exact same mindset of the super fundamentalist literalists and do not accept that there might be symbolic, or allegorical meanings in scripture. They’re one in the same, just not religious. Great video btw.

[@Michael-bk5nz]

You can take the boy out of the fundamentalist church, but you can't take the fundamentalist church out of the boy

[@arcguardian]

Why can't it be both, symbolic and literal? (It needing context of course) Are u aware of any scripture that is strictly allegorical? I know Jesus is called the door, surely you don't think these super fundamentalists think Jesus is a literal door. To what degree do these ppl exist?

[@petery6432]

@@Michael-bk5nz Yeah, I think Holy Koolaid is the most guilty of this, as he uses the term Creationist and Christian interchangeably, and that lead to him calling the Wielder of the Master Popcorn a Creationist.

[@Michael-bk5nz]

@@arcguardian it is not a question of literal or symbolic, fundamentalist interpretation is more about absolutist thinking, where everything is good or bad right or wrong with no room for ambiguity, also many fundamentalists make the rather odd 'argument' that if there is even one tiny microscopic error in the Bible then this proves that Christianity is false, this is why atheists tend to focus on minor, insignificant discrepancies in scripture

[@Pseudo-Jonathan]

@@Michael-bk5nz I was born in a household that taught that the Bible literally cannot contain a SINGLE iota of mistake. Doesn't matter if it was inconsequential to the meaning/theology/theme of the text. I'm glad I grew and matured out of it by finding many Godly scholars that don't think like that. Unfortunately, the vast majority of people who grow up being taught these things won't find their way out if it, and will either remain hardcore fundamentalists for the rest of their lives, or become radical God hating skeptics.

[@jonbass6346]

This video was legitimately mind blowing! Thank you so much for making it!

[@coolmuso6108]

I just stumbled upon this channel and it's awesome! Btw, in his 'Jewish New Testament Commentary,' David H. Stern, who left Rabbinic Judaism and became a Messianic Jew, showed that the rabbis used four modes of Scriptural interpretation: P’shat (“simple”): this is the basic "grammatical-historical" method of exegesis that most people are familiar with. Remez (“hint”): this is where words, phrases or other elements in the text provide hints for a specific event. Drash or midrash (“search”): an allegorical approach to interpreting the text. Sod (“secret”): a 'mystical' or hidden meaning to the text - e.g. gematria. If you only mistakenly restrict yourself only to the first method, then you're inevitably going to run into problems since the text of Scripture encompasses a lot more than just blanket-statements. It's only when you take all these different approaches do you then see that Paul wasn't making up the statement in 1 Corinthians 15:4 - " and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures." The entire Old Testament points to Jesus. This example of Jonah is a perfect example of the allegorical ("Drash") approach.

[@johnbreitmeier3268]

The fact that rabbis who are and were mostly Pharisees use a technique is not a particularly good recommendation for its validity.

[@Yosef_Morrison]

@cool muso, It looks like @John Breitmeier who replied, "The fact that rabbis who are and were mostly Pharisees use a technique is not a particularly good recommendation for its validity" has yet a lot to learn as our Jewish Messiah Yeshua was also a Pharisee himself and used the method of Scriptural interpretation you mentioned which is know as "PaRDeS". The gospels only record that Yeshua grew up in and taught in the sole domain of the Pharisees, the synagogue. The Sadducee's were opposed to Pharisee beliefs like resurrection from the dead and would never enter the territory of the Pharisees, their synagogues. It might appear that @John Breitmeier could be a Sadducee since he is against the Pardes method of Scriptural interpretation that Sadducees reject. The Sadducee method of Scripture interpretation would be if you can't find a verse that plainly declares, "The Messiah will die, and then resurrect after three days and three nights", then that makes Rav Shaul (aka Paul) a liar. Next issue: At the beginning of this video there was some concern about the science behind such a fish (or whale) that would be capable of swallowing a human being. It would seem that some people can experience a bit of blindness when they read the Scriptures and miss some vital information given to us about the fish. Yonah chapter 1 and verse 17, says: "Now the LORD had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah." This wasn't just any old fish or whale who happened to conveniently be in the neighborhood in time for Jonah's dip in the sea. It was a HUGE FISH that the Almighty Himself specially prepared for an occasion such as this specifically to swallow Jonah. All the wannabe scientists can now take a seat. In my personal opinion, this is such a vital understanding of G-d's handiwork for this special occasion that it would be worth editing that info into the video or if need be create a video to replace this one as everyone who watches this video may not receive the blessing of reading my replies to someone else's comments. I actually did a "control F" search to try to find the word "Corinthians" before beginning to construct my own response to this video and I was super glad to find what @cool muso had written. Instead of initiating my own comment I thought it would be a good idea to keep all the Jewish secrets in one place and so I decided to join the discussion as a reply here. There is a KZbinr Tovia Singer who can use deception like a parlor trick to get Jewish believer's to denounce their faith in Messiah Yeshua. He did just that few weeks back with the very statement of Rav Shaul who declared that the Messiah would be "buried and rise again the third day according to the Scriptures" in 1 Corinthians 15:4 to which Tovia Singer deceptively stated was not found in the Scriptures! If you want to see him deceiving folks like a snake oil salesman Tovia Singer has a KZbin channel video entitled "Powerful Nashville Debate!" I commented there too and exposed his deceptions. Rav Shaul warned us about the wolves like Tovia Singer who would come in after he was gone to ravage the flock. Furthermore, our Jewish sages, and even in our Zohar, it written that Jonah dying in the belly of the fish and being resurrected the 3rd day is a messianic prophecy while it doesn't read as a prophecy on the surface and that is why Pardes is vital to validate 1 Cor 15:4.

[@malvokaquila6768]

Indeed.

[@sjappiyah4071]

Incredible work ! I always understood the dying and resurrecting aspect of the “sign of Jonah” but the parallel to Jonah turning ninavite Pagans to the Lord, and Jesus turning Pagans to himself was MIND BLOWING indeed

[@truncated7644]

I know the exegetical practice is to view these type of similarities as prophetic anticipations of Christ. However, I don't think we read other literature in a retrospective manner. For example, we don't view a new romance novel as the fulfillment of Romeo and Juliet, but we might view it as dependent on Romeo and Juliet. Question: Do you think it is just as reasonable to read Jesus's narrative as an echo of prior stories? (and no, I am not a mythicist).

[@keatsiannightingale2025]

I’ve never personally read the text as implying the Ninevites became YHWH worshipers. I think that actually makes the text’s message even more significant: the people didn’t even have to be told the message was from YHWH, the one true God, to turn from their sins, but Israel is told repeatedly over and over again with not the least change.

[@TestifyApologetics]

Thanks again to all my patrons and channel members for making videos like these possible. Any support is appreciated! www.patreon.com/isjesusalive

[@Yosef_Morrison]

I hope you might edit in the fact that the book of Yonah 1:17 says the LORD prepared a great fish. It was a special occasion that called for a special fish to be created to swallow a human so G-d did just that. All the wannabe scientists who wanna say such a fish or whale did not or could not exist are right cause G-d created a special limited edition for the occasion.

[@BrandonCorley109]

Great video, but don't forget Hosea 6:2, too, "After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will raise us up, that we may live before him". Lots have been written on this regarding the resurrection of Israel and its fulfillment in true Israel, Jesus the Messiah

[@TestifyApologetics]

Yeah, I don't find that to be a very strong prophecy for the resurrection of Jesus, tbh. It's kind of iffy. Maybe. I don't think it's the one Paul was referring to when he said Jesus was raised according to the scriptures in 1 Cor 15.

[@vakudibeardefender3953]

Wow! Just WOW! Mind blown! Never looked at it from this angle. Thank You.

[@DavidStirneman]

I'm gonna have to be Berean and go down this rabbit hole but this is very interesting and a good argument.

[@indianasmith8152]

EXCELLENT!! This is one of my favorite episodes yet. Sharing . . .

[@marcfofi688]

I took a look at ancient Assyrian laws and I no longer wonder why God seemed to single them out in Jonah. Also this changed my whole perspective of Jonah, thank you.

[@connorhall9635]

Which laws did you have in mind? What were the laws?

[@arcguardian]

@@connorhall9635 i too would like to know.

[@Nov_Net]

@@arcguardian I too would like to know

[@zimriel]

I don't know about the laws either, honestly; but Assyria had adopted the cult of Anshar, their patron "Asshur" raised to the level of the universal god over all other gods. Not so different from what Judaism and Christianity would end up as, with YHWH as the supreme god leading angels (and, in Catholicism, saints). The main difference, of course, is that Anshar-Asshur blessed Assyria's mass deportations and sadistic executions of unbelievers. We don't see this in just-war theory in Christendom. Although, "Testify" here is the sort of insecure obscurantist that I wouldn't put it past him.

[@connorhall9635]

@@zimriel Hello, I didn’t understand the comment you made at the end about testify. Would elaborate please? Thank you

[@jansongunn4214]

Superb Eric! Absolutely sublime!🤝

[@Crtnmn]

Thank you. Teach Jesus, GOD WITH US.

[@TitanCJM]

Absolutely amazing timing! My Bible study group is just about to read through Jonah.

[@JabberW00kie]

Funny how insights like this just slip by. I’ve looked at the book of Jonah from many different angles, but never considered that he might’ve actually died and came back to life. However, it makes more sense with the wording. Also, I always assumed that Jesus‘s reference was metaphorical in the sense that Jonah was technically “buried“ in a “fish tomb“ and then restored, but this gives his reference even more significance.

[@Yosef_Morrison]

If Jews had remained in control of the teaching instead of the hijacking of the Messianic sect of Judaism by the Roman's then all Christian's like us Jews would know that Jonah actually died in the fish and was resurrected by G-d the 3rd day. They say G-d works in mysterious ways however and all things in good time, right? The time has come as we've entered the Last Days and "knowledge is increased". Hallelu Yah!

[@thatwolfensteinguy8954]

​@@Yosef_Morrison you prove nothing, God bless :)

[@Yosef_Morrison]

@@thatwolfensteinguy8954 lol What is it you are under the misconception I was trying to prove?

[@MadebyKourmoulis]

One of your best ones yet.

[@jakeroberts6274]

Great video thanks

[@ClauGutierrezY]

Oh the mysterious beauty of the word of God. Thanks for this

[@jochemschaab6739]

Since were on typology, could you cover the story of Abraham sacrificing Isaac? That is probably one of the most missunderstood bible passages and used by critics to show how cruel God is, eventho it is one of the most amazing prophecies in scripture.

[@gospelfreak5828]

I’m curious. Would you recommend a video or article going over this interpretation? I never heard of it

[@jochemschaab6739]

@@gospelfreak5828 basically it all pictures how God will send his son to save us. The mountain Abaraham was on is in Jerusalem. With that in mind read this verse: So Abraham called that place The Lord Will Provide. And to this day it is said, “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.” Genesis 22:14 NIV If that aint talking about Christ I dont know what is

[@phenomenom9142]

I’m glad i found this video, the parallel was right in front of me for so long but i never noticed

[@arcguardian]

Dat fish looks so happy obeying God.

[@WhatYourPastorDidntTellYou]

Thumbnail on point 👌

[@TestifyApologetics]

My 12 year old son approved, so I figured it would be good.

[@northeastchristianapologet1133]

Excellent video!

[@Renttroseman]

Insert Islamic Twisting of the verse

[@TestifyApologetics]

I almost touched on it, it's in the blog post.

[@pictureel5863]

Excellent commentary!

[@Xgy33]

Deflate comments led me to your channel brother.

[@DevoutSoldierYT]

I'm surprised this channel doesn't have 1,000,000 subscribers.

[@farmercraig6080]

Wow.. mind blown. Thanks Erik.

[@lGalaxisl]

The connection between Jonah, Jesus, and the conversion/salvation of the gentiles is also echoed in the story of Joseph: Joseph is sold to the gentile Egyptians by his own brothers. Through some scandal he is put in prison (sheol). When he emerges out of prison and becomes the Vizier of Egypt, ruling at the right hand of the Pharaoh, he saves the Egyptians from famine. Then his brothers come to him and do not recognise him, because he looks like an Egyptian. Similarly, Jesus is sold to the romans by Judas and his people, he goes through sheol and emerges as the King of Kings, ruling at the right hand of the Father. He is the salvation of the gentiles, and wears the roman toga.

[@truncated7644]

Given the chronological direction of time, would you say it makes more sense to say that Jesus' story echoes Joseph's?

[@lGalaxisl]

@@truncated7644 I get what you mean. I'd prefer to say that Joseph's story prefigures the story of Christ, which is the eternal story. In that sense "prefigures" is a better way of putting it than "echoes".

[@truncated7644]

@@lGalaxisl Thanks for the response. As Christian, I wrote 20 page papers arguing just that. I have a different view now. Question for you: First, what meaning or value does it have if it is only recognized in hindsight? Second, other than Jesus, has anyone else's life been prefigured in this way?

[@lGalaxisl]

@@truncated7644 It seems to be part of the story that it was realised in hindsight. After the resurrection, Christ showed his disciples how He was prefigured in the old testament. It's an interesting point because the Orthodox Church's position, afaik, is that old testament saints could only have become saints by virtue of the incarnation. I'm afraid I don't have a good answer for you, but it does remind me of what I've read a saint say somewhere, that the death and resurrection of the Logos is contained within reality, as we all go to sleep and wake up, how the seasons change, and how a seed has to be burried in the ground before it can resurrect as a plant. To me that is the pattern of reality, which has become incarnate. Anyway, as far as I'm concerned, there have been people who are "prefiguring" other people. In the context of Christianity, we have Elijah and St John the Baptist. There is also the belief that saints with the same name participate in the same story, which is reflected in hagiography, the biography of saints, where they would interpolate verses of the story of a saint into the life story of another saint that shared the same name. Of course I'm taking the term "prefiguration" a bit looser here than with Christ.

[@truncated7644]

@@lGalaxisl Thanks, it is interesting to hear your views. Is there anything that would convince you that the causality goes the other direction? That is, the authors of the gospels drew on their knowledge of the Hebrew bible to write stories about Jesus?

[@christsdisciple3105]

Just want to say one thing: Jonah lived as a contemporary to another prophet(I forget which one) that had prophesied that Assyrians would destroy Jerusalem. So, it is possible he ran to try to prevent the prophesy from being fulfilled.

[@zimriel]

Might be Isaiah. There's some oracles in chapters 1-39 to that effect. Aubin's "Rescue of Jerusalem" looked into some of these.

[@johnbreitmeier3268]

There is only one other mention of Jonah in the Old Testament in 2 Kings 14:25. It is brief and does not mention either Nineveh or the "whale" which is extremely odd if the story of Jonah and the "whale" is history rather than a teaching parable. It is even more curious that neither Kings nor Chronicles nor any secular history records that Nineveh ever made a dramatic conversion to Yahweh worship which you'd think would be huge news. It also conflicts with Nineveh later sacking the Northern Kingdom of Israel. As a teaching parable telling Israel that it was neglecting it mission to evangelize the heathen it makes perfect sense and all the whale problems that bother unbelievers go away. It would not have kept Jesus from using it as an illustration of his death and resurrection. The story was well known and Jesus loved parables and used fictional parables to teach truths all the time.

[@christsdisciple3105]

@@johnbreitmeier3268 Except, there are many things that are not spoken of in one book that are in another. So, it is not necessary for Jonah's whale tale to be mentioned, even in passing. Plus, the conversion needn't be permanent for it to have been genuine, at the time. The next generation could have easily turned from following God(look at children raised in church that turn away as an adult). Would still allow them to destroy Israel.

[@johnbreitmeier3268]

@@christsdisciple3105 CD, I agree that the whale tale MIGHT have been passed over by both the authors of Kings and Chronicles, after all Kings at least mentions Jonah's name and Chronicles does not give him a passing thought, BUT not the total conversion of Israel's biggest enemy even for one generation. After all Elisha converts one Syrian General, Naaman, and we get an entire story about it. A conversion event bigger than Pentecost happens and neither Biblical historian gives it a line in passing??? Really??? That strains credulity way past the breaking point. Answer me this, please, What major doctrine of the bible and Christianity is damaged if the story of Jonah is a fictional parable like the ones Jesus told ratheer than a historical account? That is a serios question. I have already said why it is a problem if Jonah was able to pray his way out of the grave.

[@zimriel]

@@johnbreitmeier3268 this is why it is pointless to argue with fundamentalists

[@rrrrrr1069]

Great video & insights

[@YogabyBethanieMeredith4Jesus]

Well Done. Thank you!

[@jerrywalz6308]

Yes, Jonah most likely died but not in the flesh. The fish was most likely the event that 'killed' him, and as in Matthew 12:40, the sea is representing the 'Earth.' The reason that Jonah was still conscious was because he was between Earth (sea) and hades. The prayer is describing what he is seeing around him while in this fourth dimension. After the 3 days and 3 nights, God ejects him onto the land where his soul is restored. Any person who has a world only type of thinking would never believe this, because they only believe in the power of the material world. They quickly forget that with God, all things are possible, and God is literally altering reality for a short period of time. Excellent video.

[@JonStallings]

Great thoughts on Jonah. There is power in the resurrection

[@knightofgod5368]

This is an off topic question, but I've noticed that you've been using pictures from the show the Chosen for your thumbnails and I wanted to know what you thought of it? I personally love it and I'm not even a guy who watches many shows to begin with. However, I know the Chosen takes certain liberties and that can put people off. Anyway, God bless and have a good day.

[@TestifyApologetics]

The Chosen is a well-made show. There are certain aspects that it gets right and there are aspects it absolutely gets wrong and can be really frustrating. So it's more good than bad for me, but I wish it wasn't such a mixed bag.

[@jonbass6346]

@@TestifyApologetics I’m curious to which things you think are off base? Personally, I didn’t like: 1.) Mary being a prostitute (no scripture says she was) 2.) Nicodemus’ fear of following Jesus (he was at least involved in Jesus’ burial according to scripture, so hopefully they’ll at least include that) But other than that I haven’t seen anything I could consider contradictory to scripture.

[@TestifyApologetics]

@@jonbass6346 Matthew being rather ignorant of Jewish scripture would be one instance. Jesus being nervous about the Sermon on the Mount was another. Still a great show though, can't wait for season 3. No show can be perfect.

[@knightofgod5368]

@@TestifyApologetics To be fair, Luke recorded that Jesus was heavily sweating and in anguish while praying in the garden. It says that his sweat was like drops of blood which could be an actual medical phenomenon caused by extreme stress. It would make sense of course since Jesus knew that he was going to experience one of the worst forms of execution in human history, despite already knowing this was going to happen well in advance. It doesn't seem that farfetched then to assume that he would stress over the importance of the greatest sermon of all time. Of course, it's not recorded how Jesus felt about the sermon and I could be completely wrong about this, but as you said, no show is perfect.

[@jonbass6346]

@@TestifyApologetics I didn’t have a problem with Matthew because they explained how he was pulled out of Torah school for work. Since his gospel gives the most details I really appreciated that character trait. I don’t know how to feel about Jesus’ being nervous. We know He was fully man. He was scared in the garden. So I think Him being nervous before a huge sermon is plausible. I get why it upsets people though!

[@santiagodiaz3358]

Good one! The story of Jonah is one of my favourites in the Bible, Jonathan Pagueau made a cool video about it, I'd reccomend checking him out as well. It's super interesting how many parallels to the NT and other books of the OT there are in so little chapters

[@preciousjatau6244]

Thanks!

[@TestifyApologetics]

Wow. Thank you very much!

[@thetheoreticaltheologian2458]

I also would like to add to this along with what he said, the prophecy of the time frame in which Jesus said, “look at all these huge buildings, not one stone, will be left standing” thereby prophesying of the temples/city’s destruction “Jerusalem” for its would be rejection of Jesus the Messiah. Well in the O.T. there is a code where when a prophecy is given and with it a number of days, it says that for each day represents a year. So when Jonah preached to Nineveh, he said 40 days and Nineveh will be turned over “if they didn’t repent”. Well they did end up repenting and the people and city were saved by Gods grace. Over now to Jesus whom they rejected “obviously since they had Him crucified” which brought forth the 40 years till the destruction of Jerusalem. Jesus’s ministry started when He was 30 AD and the Temple of Jerusalem was destroyed in 70 AD. 70-30=40 years. So when Jesus started His ministry He was 30 and so you would count 40 years for the destruction time frame and we end up with the destruction of the Temple 40 years later in 70 AD. Prophecy fulfilled.

[@truncated7644]

Where is this code, and when is it applied consistently?

[@thetheoreticaltheologian2458]

@@truncated7644 Ezekiel 4:6 After you have finished this, lie down again, this time on your right side, and bear the sin of the people of Judah. I have assigned you 40 days, a day for each year. Numbers 14:34 For forty years-one year for each of the forty days you explored the land-you will suffer for your sins and know what it is like to have me against you. Just a few examples

[@truncated7644]

@@thetheoreticaltheologian2458 Great points. Any thoughts on these questions? 1. In the examples provided, the text also interprets the prophecy. Should the code only be applied when this is done? 2. On what basis do we know to apply the code when the text doesn't interpret this for us? 3. Aren't there many other prophecies that mention days and it was actually days, not years? 4. Jesus' ministry might have started in 30 CE, but we don't know that with certainty. Luke says he was "about 30", and some other early church fathers thought he died in his fifties. Is it critical to the truthfulness of the prophecy that it is exactly 40 years? That is, if it is only 38 years, or even 42 years, is this type of prophetic interpretation useful? 5. Why does the clock begin at the start of his ministry other than to make the dates work? It doesn't seem reasonable that the clock starts on the first day of his ministry - how would anyone have a chance to know his message? Wouldn't it make more sense to start at his resurrection, and the punishment on Jerusalem be for not believing it? 6. Of course, we don't even know how long Jesus ministered. The synoptics tell a story of a single year of ministry - the three years only comes from John, and he moves Jesus' cleansing of the temple to the first year. So even if you choose the end of his ministry, we don't know when that was. (OK, I know, that's not a question).

[@johnnelligan7093]

Very good

[@nevermind824]

What a great video. I've never heard this before

[@petery6432]

This reminds me of Holy Koolaid unironically trying to say that Joshua stopping the moon wouldn't work because a load of catastrophic events should have happened and yet they didn't. Trent Horn had the same observation that you did: The atheist is acting as though God couldn't do his miracle in a way that would work.

[@petery6432]

*Stopping the Earth

[@edwin7153]

Interesting!

[@truncated7644]

@Testify, I agree, Jonah is one of my favorite stories. God shows his desire for all people to repent and do what is right. And even more interesting, that is all that is required of them, similar to Jesus' teaching in the parable of the sheep and goats. The irony of Jonah being the instrument of their salvation while being a petulant jerk underscores God's graciousness. If the story requires a miracle, why that one? Why not just teleport Jonah to Ninevah like he did Jesus in John 6:21 or Philip in Acts 8:39-40? There is no Assyrian record (and there are a lot) of Assyrians becoming Yahweh worshippers (I know, argument from silence). Who wrote it? It doesn't read like Jonah was the author, yet we know what he prayed in the belly of the whale. It reads like a well written story with an omniscient narrator (typical of fiction), like the Gift of the Magi, which seems literally too good to be historical. To beat a broken drum, how does reading stories like these lead you to faith in God, unless you read them already assuming there is a God who does miracles? And if you already have that faith, how does this story increase that faith? For me, this story is hard to believe, and instead of increasing my faith in God, it requires it.

[@TestifyApologetics]

Why should you believe the Jonah story? I don't think I could argue for the historicity of Jonah strongly at all, but that misses the point of the video. The first point is that just because we know "whale-science" that doesn't make the story false nor does it even understand the author's intent. The second point is that Jesus predicted that he will fulfill the sign of Jonah. We not only have evidence of the resurrection but the otherwise surprising evidence of the turning of Gentile nations to worship the God of Israel. Consider this: Given the persecution that Christianity endured during its first few hundred years (which Jesus was said to predict), there was very little chance that Christianity would become the dominant religion on earth. But as I outlined in various Old Testament passages, the Messiah would lead the nations in recognition and worship of the God of Israel. Remember the quote from Isaiah 49, pause also and see the other passages I note in the video. Also, Jesus specified that this gospel would be preached throughout the entire world as a testimony to all nations... (Mt 24:14). Therefore, on the hypothesis that a given individual is the promised Messiah, the probability that they would bring representatives of all nations of the world to worship the God of Israel is approximately equal to one, whereas, on the hypothesis that Jesus is not the Messiah, the probability is vanishingly small.

[@truncated7644]

@@TestifyApologetics I rewatched this a couple times now and read and reread your post. Assuming miracles are possible, I guess it is pointless to debate whether something could happen or not, whether it be Jonah, the sun standing still, axe heads floating or Jesus rising from the dead. However, the stories in the OT often read like literature or myth, sometimes so strongly that even C.S. Lewis thought so of Jonah and Esther. Add in the view that there inaccuracies, contradictions, and theological differences amongst the prophets of the OT, and it looks like a very human book to me. But with the arrival of Jesus and his resurrection, if I understand you correctly, what happens is that these narratives come together in a purposeful way that not only help us understand what God has done through Jesus, but shows that it was planned from the beginning, and so should give us confidence in the reality of the resurrection. Do I have that right? Of course, the way I view it is that Jesus and the gospel writers built on the stories they knew in the OT, making their narratives no more reliable or true than the stories they are built on (history intermixed with legend and myth). Compare this to the way fundamentalist Christians use Jesus' mention of Adam and Eve as the primary evidence of their existence. It seems like a retrospective justification rather than one built on facts or evidence. So here is a question for you, if you don't mind: If Jesus didn't come 2,000 years ago, but was planning to come 1,000 years from now, and assuming your are well versed in the Hebrew scriptures, do you think you would have the same opinion of the Hebrew Bible' historicity, accuracy, and theological consistency that you have now?

[@TestifyApologetics]

I am not "well-versed" in the Hebrew scriptures to the point where I've studied arguments for the historicity of say ... the Exodus or whatnot. So I can't really answer at the moment, someday I'd love to make it a study. You'll notice that my focus is on the NT and philosophical objections to miracles.

[@truncated7644]

@@TestifyApologetics Ok, thanks for your reply - its your channel and I don't want to hijack its topic. But I do I like this question though, because for me, without Jesus, I don't think I would have good reasons to put much stock in the OT. Once I realized that the OT wouldn't lead me to a belief in Yahweh, it was a logically short (but in real life, very protracted) leap to view the story of Jesus in a similar way. So more inline with your focus, do you think there is a philosophical explanation why miracles seem (at least to me) to happen so rarely and randomly? Put another way, if God were to make daily audible announcements about his will that every human could understand, would that violate your philosophical understanding of miracles?

[@dwong9289]

Love Dr. Brant Pitre! If you keep reading his books you will become Catholic soon 😁😇🙏

[@TestifyApologetics]

Haha. Pitre and Trent Horn are my favorite Catholics.

[@dwong9289]

@@TestifyApologetics Pitre has a great KZbin channel called "Catholic Productions" that releases weekly Bible commentaries which correspond to the mass readings! Very spiritually fruitful!

[@TestifyApologetics]

@@dwong9289 oh yeah, I've watched many of them

[@Golfinthefamily]

Good stuff, Erick! Thanks brother

[@nothingbutthetruth613]

I can't argue with your observation regarding the way the verses describe Jonah and it very likely might mean what you describe. I do however have to disagree with your implication that this verse in Isaiah 49 points to a prophecy that has been fulfilled in Christianity. Yes, the jewish nation was and is always an influence on the world but not just christianity. This has been fulfilled in every religion including Islam. Monotheism did not exist except with the jews and the whole world has clearly been influenced by the jews but this is not manifested in the christians as opposed to any other religion. One observation you might not realize also is that it doesn't actually say whale anywhere. It says a big fish. How do we know this wasn't some deep sea creature that is currently extinct that was able to swallow Jonah was he was alive? Also this could be allegorical. But most importantly to ask on anything in the bible and try to disprove the entire bible based on one passage that you can't understand by "normal" nature is absurd. It's a miracle and that's it. Just like the story of Noah could not have happened without it being supernaturally orchestrated, it's the same thing by Jonah. Just a thought

[@TestifyApologetics]

Every religion? Aside from Islam and maybe Mormonism, which ones? And which one came first, compared to which one was a mutation of the original?

[@nothingbutthetruth613]

@@TestifyApologetics You are right. Most of the monotheism we see in this world is from christianity but it definitely has affected more than just them as we see in Islam and all the offshoots of christianity and of course the vast majority of cults that have existed which all have a leader who claims to be the prophet or messiah as told to them from a single God. The point is that this fact that what Isaiah is telling us is true, in no way indicates that the effects of it are correct. That's pretty obvious because only one could be right. Judaism has had an effect on the world and still does in so many ways very disproportionate to their size but the influence they have is simply in the belief of a monotheistic theology. The rest of the theology and doctrines emanating from this is a totally separate thing.

[@HerveyShmervy]

Hey Testify, I was having a conversation with a guy about the dating of the gospels and how they were written by eyewitnesses and people who knew eyewitnesses, so I showed him your channel and said he should confront you in the comments about these issues, but then he said you like to censor comments that disagree with you. What do you have to say to that?

[@TestifyApologetics]

I don't censor disagreement. If you've noticed my comments, there are people who regularly disagree with me and that's welcome. But they do so without being juvenile. I do hide users who are abusive, rude, and derogatory because I'm not going to let my channel turn into other apologetics channels. (I'm not picking on Cameron Bertuzzi, I love his channel and he's great but have you seen his comment sections?...they're insane.) Also, I get emails and comments daily so I have to be selective with who I respond to but that doesn't mean they can't leave a comment.

[@HerveyShmervy]

@@TestifyApologetics thanks for your response brother, I'll be sure to let him know you said this!

[@samuelhunter4631]

Honestly I never really bothered with the intricacies of the story. After all, the Bible never really says "whale", just a big fish.

[@arcguardian]

Yeah many tend to read ancient texts with modern lenses.

[@TandemSix]

I some time ago listened to a podcast on this particular issue,and R.C. Sproul wrote an essay on the book of Jonah in which he demonstrated that chapter 2 is more of a song than historical narrative

[@marksmith6885]

STRONG

[@SquizzMe]

Ok but I NEED to know which song you use for your outro. It's a beautiful LoFi tune. And brilliant video as always ^_^ I've always loved how stubborn and grumpy Jonah's character is.

[@TestifyApologetics]

Thanks! The song is in the In the description. Jonah is one of my favorite OT stories.

[@SquizzMe]

@@TestifyApologetics many thanks!

[@56pjr]

It is written. That settles it.

[@anjanettetooke]

Supernatural.

[@catbilota2492]

Another one !!

[@addersrinseandclean]

My problem is this it says “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, In Jonah 1:2

[@christendumb9371]

Why is resorection more believable than surviving being swallowed by a fish ??

[@hendricksam]

Look at him, going for the jugular.

[@TheHenok30]

Sometimes the "sign" is a "miracle" & the Aramaic word A-THA means: "SIGN (miracle, example [Num. 26:10], description, banner, etc.)." Yeshua said that: *... an evil & adulterous GENERATION (race) seeks a SIGN (miracle) & a SIGN (miracle) shall not be given it except the [same] SIGN (miracle) of Yonah the Prophet (Matt. 12:39).* Yonah died in the INTESTINES (belly) of the LARGE FISH [whale] (Yonah 2:1-2). He was resurrected when the whale vomitted him out after 3 days & 3 nights (Yonah 1:17; 2:10). He even had some sea-weed wrapped around his head like a crown (Yonah 2:5 [6]). The MIRACLE of his survival or death & resurrection was a SIGN to the NINVITES (Ninevites). Since God often operates in the same manner, Yeshua's crucifixion, death & resurrection would be a SIGN to the Pharisees & the world.

[@julzee111]

Where in the bible does it state or even infer infe that the Bible is the Infallible Word of God.??

[@BLynn]

So, I posted this to FB to have a few friends watch it. One of my friends responded with, "There is no word in 'ancient' Hebrew for a whale (Judea being landlocked and all). so it was dag gadol, essentially 'Big Fish'. When it is originally mentioned it's a masculine word. However, once it swallows Jonah and has a life inside of it, it becomes feminine. Therefore it was the only sex change in the bible." I do not know Hebrew so I cannot respond. What is your reaction to his statement?

[@TestifyApologetics]

I'd just ask him to prove it. Just ask "ok, I'm not a Hebrew scholar so can you give me some evidence for this claim?"

[@jesusirizarryrodriguez835]

I don't get it? Hey can You give me a reference where the the "Big fish" was either considered masculine or femenine?

[@BLynn]

@@TestifyApologetics decided to go with, "Where did you study Hebrew? I would like to learn it, but never had the money to pursue higher education, but now that my money isn't going for..."

[@BLynn]

@@jesusirizarryrodriguez835 I responded with, "Where did you study Hebrew? I would like to learn it, but never had the money to pursue higher education, but now that my money isn't going for..."

[@jesusirizarryrodriguez835]

Oh ok so básically thats how he responded

[@rebelresource]

The sign of Jonah is obedience, not anything about the messiah.

[@jaguerkhan9400]

Women of Revelation 12 May 2024 23/24 September signs

[@Crtnmn]

You simply must read it...english, old English, Hebrew...God can teach.

[@austinapologetics2023]

I've never heard this before. Really interesting Edit: scratch that. I just remembered that I first heard about PART of it from inspiring philosophy in a live stream on myth vision. Anyways, I'm glad you made a video on it because I thought it was a little interesting the first time I heard it but never thought more about it.

[@honorscholar6692]

When Jonah went to Sheol, as with other folks who headed there in Old Testament times after death, is it Hell, or Paradise similar to where the robber on the cross went, or is it another location? I never have been aware of this, would like clarification, thank you.

[@christsdisciple3105]

So, our only look into Sheol is with Jesus telling the parable of the rich man and Lazarus. We see half of it is torment, the other is a place of paradise. What many believe happened is that, when Jesus died and rose again, He went down to Sheol, took paradise and the righteous dead into heaven, then came back down in His glorified body until He was raised to heaven in the sight of His believers. As to the question of "hell"... there's really three places that I can see that are refered to as this: one is the bottomless pit Satan is thrown into for a thousand years at the end of Revelation, another is Sheol(after paradise is removed, the torment of Sheol reached the entirety of Sheol), and lastly, the lake of fire... where Sheol is thrown into in Revelation. I never made that last connection until just now.

[@arcguardian]

@@christsdisciple3105 how do we know paradise was removed rather than just left vacant?

[@HerveyShmervy]

@@arcguardian inference, plus that doesn't really matter if there were empty spaces in Sheol as the only people in it would be the damned.

[@arcguardian]

@@HerveyShmervy i agree it ultimately doesn't matter, which is part of why I asked. In others words if it doesn't matter why did they bother mentioning it in the first place, honest curiosity.

[@callums6570]

Did you get this from Brant Pitre?

[@hiddenrambo328]

Pretty sure the source was God and his word! I have no clue about the meme!

[@TestifyApologetics]

Yep, he's credited in the description.

[@callums6570]

@@TestifyApologetics ah yes! I should have checked. I have the book and thought it was an interesting addition to the case for Christianity

[@Crtnmn]

It does not say he survived....he was raised from the dead....brought from the pit....

[@hglundahl]

4:12 Did you say "like many of the Jews"? _"Han nämns först i Andra Kungaboken __14:25__ som samtida med kung Jerobeam II, kung i Israel under första hälften av 700-talet __f.Kr.__"_ So, IV Kings, he's mentioned in 14:25 as contemporary with King Jeroboam II, King of Israel - not of Judah - during the first half of the 700's BC (799 BC to 750 BC). It was worse, it was going to the national enemy that was going to crush his people, not just lay siege on it!

[@hglundahl]

Challoner comment states Opher - where he was from - is in Zabulon.

[@hglundahl]

In other words, Jonah was from, not far from Capharnaum.

[@akanoob2072]

Noice

[@Pete_Delfina]

Yonah didn't survive the three days in the whale. He was resurrected by G-d and then spitted out.

[@TestifyApologetics]

yep that's what i said in the video

[@Pete_Delfina]

Yeah, AFTER watching the video I found out 😊

[@vinnygiggidy]

If there is no air in the whales stomach how did Jonah pray? You need oxygen to pray. One of the ways Christians tell me they know Jesus is God is that he rose from the dead if Jonah also rose from the dead does that mean Jonah is also God. Also you once said that miracles have to be rare or they would just be part of nature but Christians aren't claiming just one resurrection but many. Widow in Zarephath's daughter, Shunammite Woman's Son, Widow of Nain's Son, Jairus' Daughter, Eutychus, the saints of Jerusalem, and now you're claiming Jonah was resurrected as an explanation to why he survived in the belly of a whale. You are using one miracle to explain an other physics be damned. At what point should you just consider resurrections as part of the natural order? 50? 100? 500?

[@TestifyApologetics]

What's the ratio of resurrections in the Bible to dead people who have stayed dead over the course of history, Vinny? And in the cases of resurrections, how many of them were charrged with religious significance?

[@vinnygiggidy]

@@TestifyApologetics what's the ratio of lottery winners to people who don't win the lottery? Winning the lottery is still natural. All the resurrections in the bible have to be of religious significance by definition because they are in the bible. And for real how many resurrections would it take to make them part of the natural order?

[@jochemschaab6739]

@@vinnygiggidy you have to consider that the bible is written over 1400 years. So the handfull of resurrection are still really rare. Just calculate how many per year it is. Only when Jesus walked the earth and the church was in its early years there were a few more. Thats probably so the message could be confirmed be miracles. Also it is still a miracle so I don't see a problem with Jonah praying tbh. If God miraculously rases him from the dead I think he can also provide oxygen

[@krishnarjunmukherjee9449]

@@jochemschaab6739 he is qn atheist troll, he keeps roaming around in Erik's community posts with no real arguments. Ignore him. God bless

[@x-popone6817]

Just because someone is resurrected, that doesnt mean they are God. I am not sure where youve got this from. Ive not heard people say that. What we do say is that a resurrection would confirm what the resurrected person has said. It would mean that God was involved. So, if Jesus says He's God, the Messiah, etc, then gets resurrected, we view that resurrection as confirmation of what He claimed.

[@Cypher250]

The death of Jonah is corroborated by the rabbinical understanding of Jonah giving up the ghost

[@evolveintelligently]

The sign of Jonah was Keiko free Willy

[@jeffreyerwin3665]

Mk:8 "truly I tell you, no sign [from heaven] shall be given to this generation." Your hypothesis contradicts Mk 8. The sign of Jonah was supposed to be for a "generation." Jesus most-mortem human body was only witnessed by a limited number of "brothers" and disciples. When Jesus actually alluded to his resurrection (Jn 2:18-19), he did not say that it was the sign of Jonah. The sign of Jonah that was for 1st century Israel was Jesus' ministry (Lk 11) and it was the ONLY sign to be given to "this generation." The sign of Jonah is Mk 12 is described by Jesus by way of his prediction that his corpse will be interned for less than 72 hours, and it was to be given to "a generation," which means, in this case, some future population' The images of a corpse on the Holy Shroud prove that this corpse was interned for less that 40 hours. That is a scientific confirmation of Jesus prophecy. The Holy Shroud is the second sign of Jonah.

[@Crtnmn]

Jonah died in the sea...drowned as it says...then picked up and deposited after three days in the belly of a whale...is the planet earth a great whale swimming in the ocean of space whose purpose was to carry the church from the corruption that it is, into the new covenant of incorruption.

[@justanotherbaptistjew5659]

The word “arise” is the exact word used when Jonah is first called. Personally I believe that is a weak (and unnecessary) argument.

[@josuegonzalez5576]

But saw a video of a baller whale swallowing two women and the spitted them out

[@RobotMowerTricks]

Great video!

[@wesleybasener9705]

Great video!