Jackson Snyder presents www.Bible-News.com -The Sign of Jonah: Three Days and Three Nights, Part 1

The Sign of Jonah: Three Days and Three Nights, Part 1

“What did Yahshua Do the Three Days his Body was in the Grave?”

PART ONE - PART TWO

1. The Sign of Jonah.

Matthew 12: 38. Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to him, “Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you.” 39. But he answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign; but no sign shall be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the whale, so will the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

Jonah 1: 17. And Yahweh appointed a great fish to swallow up Jonah; and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.

Three days and three nights is the only sign given the evil generation – 72 hours in the heart of the earth. Yet misinterpretation has made the sign of Jonah into approximately 36 hours. We have Yahshua impaled on Friday PM and arising at dawn on Sunday. Does this fulfill the only sign Yahshua gave to the adulterous (idolatrous) generation? No. In the first part of this study, let’s reaffirm the sign from the Scripture.

2. Let’s understand Yahweh’s Sabbaths.

Deuteronomy 5:12. “Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy, as Yahweh Elohim commanded you. 13. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work; 14. but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Yahweh Elohim; in it you shall not do any work”

There were around 50 of these Sabbaths every year, the seventh day of every week, sundown to sundown. Sabbath today still begins Friday sundown and ends Saturday sundown.

3. Now, the Day of Preparation. Since no food could be prepared on the Sabbath, all food to be eaten that day was prepared the day before – on Friday while the sun was shining. Friday sunlight is “the day of preparation” for the weekly Sabbath, which begins at sundown Friday night.

4. Let’s understand the first of Yahweh’s High Days. There are seven high days in each year. The first high day is the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread.

Leviticus 23:6. And on the fifteenth day of the same month (Abib) is the Festival of unleavened bread to Yahweh; seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. 7. On the first day you shall have a holy convocation; you shall do no laborious work.

The Festival of Unleavened Bread is seven days long, and the first day is a High Day, called a Sabbath or High Sabbath.

5. High Sabbath Days don’t necessarily fall on the seventh day. For instance, Festival of Unleavened Bread 2007 began Tuesday Evening, April 3rd, Abib (or Nissan) 15 on the Hebrew calendar. When the Festival of Unleavened Bread falls depends on when the new moon is seen. Fifteen days after the new moon is the Festival. The first day of the Festival is a High Sabbath Day.

6. Each High Sabbath Day requires a day of preparation as well, for no work can be done on these High Days. The preparation day for the High Sabbath of Unleavened Bread has a special name – Pesach or Passover. Again, Passover is the Day of Preparation for the Festival of Unleavened Bread. Passover 2007 fell on April 2nd, Abib 14 on the Hebrew Calendar. The understanding of Sabbaths, High Sabbaths and Preparations Days is essential to learning the Sign of Jonah.

Passover Day = Preparation Day for the First Day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread

The Passover Meal is eaten at the beginning of the Preparation Day

Passover day began at 7:55 PM on Monday, April 2^nd, 2007.

The First Day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread began at 7:55 PM on Tuesday April 3^rd.

Back to the Bible:

7. Tuesday - In the year that Yahshua ate his last Passover supper, Passover started on a Tuesday Evening.

Matthew 26:31. Then Yahshua said to them, “You will all fall away because of me this night; for it is written, ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’ 32. But after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee.”

Again, this is Tuesday evening at the beginning of the day of Passover, the Preparation day for the High Sabbath of Unleavened Bread.

8. Wednesday – The Day of Preparation for the Festival of Unleavened Bread.

Mark 15:33. And when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. 34. And at the ninth hour (3 PM) Yahshua cried with a loud voice, “Elohi, Elohi, lama sabach-thani?” ... 36. And one ran and, filling a sponge full of vinegar, put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink, saying, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to take him down.” 37. And Yahshua uttered a loud cry, and breathed his last.

John 19:30. When Yahshua had received the vinegar, he said, “It is finished”; and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. 31. Since it was the day of Preparation, in order to prevent the bodies from remaining on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a High Day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away.

It will be Preparation Day until sunset Wednesday night. In the course of the night, Yahshua is captured, tried – at daylight sent to Pilate – crucified – and died all on Passover day, the Day of Preparation, a Wednesday (by our way of understanding). He is entombed at the end of the day before dusk.

Mark 15:42. And when (Wednesday) evening had come, since it was the day of Preparation, that is, the day before the Sabbath

(the Sabbath being the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread, not Saturday),

Mark 15:43. Joseph of Arimathea, a respected member of the council, who was also himself looking for the kingdom of Elohim, took courage and went to Pilate, and asked for the body of Yahshua. ... 46. And he bought a linen shroud, and taking him down, wrapped him in the linen shroud, and laid him in a tomb which had been hewn out of the rock ...

Luke 23:54. It was the day of Preparation, and the (High) Sabbath was beginning. 55. The women who had come with him from Galilee followed, and saw the tomb, and how his body was laid; 56. then they returned, and had prepared spices and ointments. On the Sabbath they rested according to the commandment.

Mark 15:46b. and he rolled a stone against the door of the tomb.

The burial of Yahshua was all completed before sunset so they could observe the High Sabbath then. So Yahshua was in the Tomb on the High Sabbath – the First Day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread.

Yahshua is ‘in there’ Wednesday night at the start of the first day of Unleavened Bread (A High Day).

Yahshua is ‘in there’ Thursday night at the start of the second day of Unleavened Bread (24 hours completed).

Yahshua is ‘in there’ Friday night at the start of the third day of Unleavened Bread (and also the weekly Sabbath – 48 hours completed).

Yahshua is in there all day Saturday the weekly Sabbath until twilight Saturday evening (72 hours completed – three full days and nights).

9. He is Risen – Saturday, between 6 to 8 pm, seventy-two hours after he is put in the tomb.

Matthew 28:1. Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn (the drawing on, epiqwskoush) of the first (day) of the week (Saturday sunset), Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the sepulcher. 2. And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of Yahweh descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone, and sat upon it. 3. His appearance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow. 4. And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men. 5. But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid; for I know that you seek Yahshua who was crucified. 6. He is not here; for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay.”

It’s night! And the light comes from “the Angel of Yahweh.”

10. Mary Approaches the Tomb Saturday after Dark.

John 20:1. NOW ON the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb.

Early would be considered sometime around eight or nine PM Saturday night, while it was dark. This was the beginning of the first day of the week, when they could go forth after the Sabbath. Would Mary Magdalene have waited until sunrise service? No way. She would have gotten over there the minute Sabbath was ended – Saturday night.

John 20:14. Saying this, she turned round and saw Yahshua standing, but she did not know that it was Yahshua. (Quiz – why didn’t she recognize him right away?) 15. Yahshua said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom do you seek?” Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.” 16. Yahshua said to her, “Mary.” She turned and said to him in Hebrew, “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher, not husband).

11. But look here!

Mark 16:2. And very early on the first day of the week they went to the tomb when the sun had risen. 3. And they were saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the door of the tomb?”

When they all may have learned of his resurrection has little to do with when he actually arose.

12. So, the Sign of Jonah was fulfilled – Yahshua’s body was entombed in the bowels of the earth 72 hours – Wednesday just before sundown to Saturday just before sundown, and he rose at the end of the Sabbath (Saturday) evening – not Sunday morning at dawn. The women discovered him either Saturday evening or Sunday morning. By the time they discovered him, he had already arisen.

Jonah 2:10. And Yahweh spoke to the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land.